Georgia Tech receives federal grant for renewable Energyshed project

Researchers from Georgia Tech are using funding from the U.S Department of Energy to reimagine Atlanta’s electric power infrastructure. Part of the project includes educating communities about energy planning.  

The U.S. Department of Energy will take a more regional approach to energy planning in order to meet the needs of communities. Over the next three years, the Georgia Energyshed (G-SHED) project will examine methods of distributing electricity, associated costs, and energy usage through tests and models. 

Richard Simmons, director of research and studies at Georgia Tech’s Strategic Energy Institute, said many communities don’t understand how energy planning affects them. 

“Very few people understand their utility bills," he told GPB News. "And it turns out that there is a very good, high-level public process that will determine things like your customer charge and your energy charge.” 

Simmons says the Energyshed project will include public outreach to help people better advocate for themselves. Their research will be used to inform policy in Atlanta and surrounding counties moving forward. 

“What’s unique about this proposal is we’re using this funding to explore a new planning mechanism that would really listen to the voices of these communities around their energy matrix,” Simmons wrote in a statement about the project's launch.