U.S. Energy Secretary Visit Highlights Southern Company's Innovation Commitment

ATLANTA, May 24, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. Secretary of Energy Dr. Ernest Moniz today visited Southern Company's Energy Innovation Center in Atlanta's Tech Square. The Georgia Tech-hosted event marks the latest show of support by the Department of Energy (DOE) for Southern Company's extensive efforts to find real solutions benefiting America's energy consumers.

During today's visit, Energy Innovation Center Vice President Michael E. Britt took Sec. Moniz on a tour of the facility, which demonstrates the company's commitment to research and development, creative partnerships and collaboration in providing innovative solutions for customers. Sec. Moniz noted, "We are pleased to see an industry leader like Southern Company moving in this direction."

DOE is a longtime supporter of and partner in Southern Company's efforts to invent America's energy future through robust, proprietary research and development (R&D). Through the Energy Innovation Center, Southern Company is extending its R&D commitment by identifying better, more reliable and more efficient ways to increase value for customers through products and services. Many of the ideas being tested in the center come from the Southern Company system's more than 26,000 employees, while others are surfaced through partnerships with leading universities, research organizations and similarly focused companies such as Nest and Tesla.

"Southern Company's decades-long partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy has produced cutting-edge technologies that are reshaping electricity generation in America," said Britt. "The company is finding real energy solutions in coordination with like-minded leaders in R&D – from Georgia Tech and other leading universities to established corporations and fast-growing startups."

In addition to the work taking place at the Energy Innovation Center, Southern Company operates DOE's National Carbon Capture Center in Alabama and has received DOE support for its subsidiaries' development of the world's most advanced coal plant in Mississippi and two of the first new carbon-free nuclear units in a generation of Americans in Georgia.

Sec. Moniz's visit to the Energy Innovation Center came during a trip to Atlanta that included several stops to see the extensive research under way across Georgia Tech's campus.  

With more than 4.5 million customers and approximately 44,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company SO is the premier energy company serving the Southeast through its subsidiaries. A leading U.S. producer of clean, safe, reliable and affordable electricity, Southern Company owns electric utilities in four states, a competitive generation company serving wholesale customers across America and a nationally recognized provider of customized energy solutions, as well as fiber optics and wireless communications. Southern Company brands are known for excellent customer service, high reliability and affordable prices that are below the national average. Through an industry-leading commitment to innovation, Southern Company and its subsidiaries are inventing America's energy future by developing the full portfolio of energy resources, including carbon-free nuclear, 21^st century coal, natural gas, renewables and energy efficiency, and creating new products and services for the benefit of customers. Southern Company has been named by the U.S. Department of Defense and G.I. Jobs magazine as a top military employer, recognized among the Top 50 Companies for Diversity by DiversityInc, listed by Black Enterprise magazine as one of the 40 Best Companies for Diversity and designated a Top Employer for Hispanics by Hispanic Network. The company has earned a National Award of Nuclear Science and History from the National Atomic Museum Foundation for its leadership and commitment to nuclear development and is continually ranked among the top utilities in Fortune's annual World's Most Admired Electric and Gas Utility rankings. Visit our website at www.southerncompany.com.

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SOURCE Southern Company