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Our Smart Thinking employees are driven to find solutions through technology. From information technology to operations, and from customer service to environmental affairs, these employees are seeking ways to improve and enhance our business, our product, and our service as we strive to remain a leader in our industry.
Electricity Storage
The concept of cost–effectively storing electricity is the holy grail of the power industry and one of many technologies we’re researching. Producing and storing electricity during off–peak hours for use during peak hours would provide more control of and access to electricity, which is needed as our company and our nation move toward increased use of intermittent renewable energy.
Smart Grid
Southern Company is an industry leader in realizing the benefits of a future Smart Grid. We’ve been utilizing Smart Grid technologies for a number of years through our robust communication network and data acquisition and outage management tools that optimize system performance and reliability. We are well–positioned to maintain our leadership role in the area of power delivery and take advantage of new and innovative Smart Grid technologies as they become available.
Electric Transportation
Electricity will move vehicles in the near future. From plug–in to extended–range hybrids, electric vehicles promise to deliver the performance and cost requirements needed for commercialization. We’re working with auto manufacturers to educate them on the vehicles’ impact on the electricity grid and preparing our infrastructure for a successful integration of the vehicles. Our research extends beyond the road. We’re also moving products with electricity at airports, seaports, warehouses, and distribution centers.
Clean Energy
Wind, solar, hydro, and nuclear are being used or researched for producing electricity at Southern Company. We continue to search for cost–effective ways to capture energy from the sun and offshore winds. Our plans to build new nuclear units are under way, as we work with manufacturers to develop the next generation of nuclear power. Since coal is the most abundant and economical resource for producing electricity, we are finding ways to produce cleaner energy with coal.
The concept of cost–effectively storing electricity is the holy grail of the power industry and one of many technologies we’re researching. Producing and storing electricity during off–peak hours for use during peak hours would provide more control of and access to electricity, which is needed as our company and our nation move toward increased use of intermittent renewable energy.
Smart Grid
Southern Company is an industry leader in realizing the benefits of a future Smart Grid. We’ve been utilizing Smart Grid technologies for a number of years through our robust communication network and data acquisition and outage management tools that optimize system performance and reliability. We are well–positioned to maintain our leadership role in the area of power delivery and take advantage of new and innovative Smart Grid technologies as they become available.
Electric Transportation
Electricity will move vehicles in the near future. From plug–in to extended–range hybrids, electric vehicles promise to deliver the performance and cost requirements needed for commercialization. We’re working with auto manufacturers to educate them on the vehicles’ impact on the electricity grid and preparing our infrastructure for a successful integration of the vehicles. Our research extends beyond the road. We’re also moving products with electricity at airports, seaports, warehouses, and distribution centers.
Clean Energy
Wind, solar, hydro, and nuclear are being used or researched for producing electricity at Southern Company. We continue to search for cost–effective ways to capture energy from the sun and offshore winds. Our plans to build new nuclear units are under way, as we work with manufacturers to develop the next generation of nuclear power. Since coal is the most abundant and economical resource for producing electricity, we are finding ways to produce cleaner energy with coal.