In June, Georgia Tech’s Strategic Energy Institute (SEI) and the Energy Policy and Innovation Center hosted Energy Unplugged, a weeklong summer camp focused on science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM) for high school students. 

Led by SEI’s director of Research and Studies and principal research engineer, Richard Simmons, the camp introduced students to energy fundamentals and highlighted STEAM-related careers and undergraduate pathways valuable in today’s workforce. The curriculum included energy resources, energy production and consumption, conversion and delivery, electric circuits, battery storage, environmental impacts, and data analytics. 

As a featured part of this year’s program, students visited the headquarters of Oglethorpe Power, Green Power EMC, and Georgia System Operations Corporation in Tucker, Georgia. The companies are owned by and serve 38 of Georgia’s not-for-profit electric membership cooperatives (EMCs), which provide retail electricity to approximately 4.7 million of Georgia’s more than 11 million residents. 

“As electricity demand continues to rise, so does the need to grow a skilled and capable workforce for the future. We are proud to partner with Georgia Tech on this inspiring program, supporting the growth and development of the next generation of leaders who will help power Georgia’s future,” said George Mathai, Oglethorpe Power performance and reliability engineer.

The site visit included a tour of Georgia System Operations’ generation and transmission control centers and presentations by Oglethorpe Power and Green Power EMC experts.

The tour began in the generation control center, where students observed operators continuously monitoring demand to make real-time decisions to increase or decrease electricity generation. Students learned that Georgia System Operations dispatches a wide array of energy sources and generation technologies to ensure a stable, reliable, secure, and efficient power grid. 

The group then visited the transmission control center, where a series of massive screens showed the web of transmission lines across the state. Students learned that the transmission system relies on extremely high-voltage lines to minimize loss across long distances. The voltages are then stepped down as they approach population centers at sub-stations, so they are suitable for use by residences, businesses, and industrial facilities. The operators in the transmission center monitor the grid for disturbances and respond to alarms, maintaining the integrity of the state’s power infrastructure. 

The tour offered a behind-the-scenes look at how electricity generation and transmission are integrated and managed across the state. 

Over lunch, Oglethorpe Power’s George Mathai and Shane Tolbert, Green Power EMC’s distributed energy resources manager, led discussions highlighting the roles of various generation sources and the benefits of a diverse portfolio in balancing cost, reliability, sustainable resources, and environmental impact. 

“Learning about how Oglethorpe Power, Green Power EMC, and Georgia System Operations work together was a highlight of the Energy Unplugged camp, as it reinforced many of the tabletop demonstrations and hands-on activities we had conducted in the days leading up to the visit. When students then get a chance to visualize energy production, conversion, and delivery concepts at full scale, lots of light bulbs start clicking on,” Simmons said.

Jointly contributed by:
Oglethorpe Power Corporation 
Georgia Tech Strategic Energy Institute (Destin Smyth)