Southern Company has been authorized to develop 2 GW of natural gas resources by the Alabama Public Service Commission, which will tie the state into fossil-fuel emissions beyond 2050. This comes alongside a decision not to approve 5 solar-plus-storage facilities worth a combined capacity of 400 MW. While the cost analysis behind the decision remains confidential, many in the state believe that the long-term costs of solar-plus-storage would be lower for billpayers by the time the generation facilities come into being. This is in accordance with a recent study by Rethink Energy which identifies that US bill-payers will have paid an excess of $318 billion due to the country’s persistence with natural gas for electricity generation. The value of existing…