SACUL, Texas, Nov. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern Company (NYSE: SO) received its first fuel load delivery Nov. 1 at the Nacogdoches Generating Facility owned by its subsidiary Southern Power in EastTexas.  The plant is the largest biomass facility in the United States.  This facility fulfills a 20-year contract to provide electric capacity to Austin Energy.

Southern Company is a leader in developing and deploying smarter and more efficient energy technologies.  The Nacogdoches Generating Facility is part of Southern Company's overall strategy to have a diverse energy portfolio that includes renewables, natural gas, 21st century coal, new nuclear and energy efficiency.  

Prime Acres Management Inc. won the right to deliver the first fuel load after being the highest bidder in an online supplier charity auction that took place from Oct. 3 – 17.  The winning bid of $10,500, will be matched by Southern Company and donated to the Nacogdoches Technical Training Center.  The center will provide job skills to non-college bound students, serve as a conduit for state workforce training incentive programs and provide targeted adult education training classes for citizens to improve their education and skills.

"Southern Power provides customers the affordable, reliable energy they need through modernization and innovation," said Oscar C. Harper, president and CEO of Southern Power.  "The Nacogdoches Generating Facility will provide electric service to the citizens of Austin in a cost-effective, reliable and environmentally responsible manner."

In October 2009, Southern Company purchased the project from American Renewables.  The project has been under construction since November 2009 and will be operational in mid 2012.  Southern Company expects to employ approximately 38 full-time employees once the plant is constructed and, at peak construction, expects approximately 1,000 workers onsite. Once the facility is fully operational, it will produce 100 megawatts of electricity and use 1.1 million tons of wood waste per year.  The vast majority of the wood will come from within a 75-mile radius of the plant.

Southern Power is among the largest wholesale energy providers in the Southeast, meeting the electricity needs of municipalities, electric cooperatives and investor-owned utilities.  The company owns and operates more than 7,500 megawatts of power generation capability, with facilities in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and New Mexico and is constructing an additional 820 megawatts of generation in North Carolina and Texas.

With 4.4 million customers and more than 42,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is the premier energy company serving the Southeast. A leading U.S. producer of electricity, Southern Company owns electric utilities in four states and a growing competitive generation company, as well as fiber optics and wireless communications. Southern Company was named the World's Most Admired Electric and Gas Utility by Fortune magazine in 2011, and is consistently listed among the top U.S. electric service providers in customer satisfaction by the American Customer Satisfaction Index. Visit their website at www.southerncompany.com.

SOURCE Southern Company