Metro cities, Georgia Tech competing to devise clean-energy solutions for the community

ATLANTA — Atlanta is partnering with Decatur, Savannah, and Georgia Tech to win a competition to devise clean-energy solutions for the community.

Channel 2′s Richard Elliot reported Thursday that Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm visited the college Thursday morning to announce that Atlanta was one of 40 finalists.

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They are competing in the clean Energy competition for $20 million. The competition focuses on solutions such as micro power grids, virtual power grids, and utility-scale solar.

All they have to do, essentially, invent a better lightbulb with clean energy.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens joked with Granholm as she made the announcement at Georgia Tech.

“The energy is high and I’m standing next to the energy secretary. It doesn’t get much better,” said Dickens.

Each will receive $500,000 to find community-based clean energy solutions.

“We wanted to give them a chance to design what they see as an energy future and have it be from the bottom up,” said Granholm.

Granholm toured some of Georgia Tech’s labs Friday to get a closer look at what it can do to assist Atlanta.

Congresswoman Nikema Williams pointed out that this isn’t the government coming in telling communities what to do. Rather, she said, this will be people in those communities telling the government what they need and want.

And in some cases, how to do it.

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“So, I’m excited to see what my constituents come up with as we look to the future because Atlanta plans to win one of these big grants,” said Williams.

Mayor Dickens is a Georgia Tech graduate, so he’s on board with trying to win the competition. And more importantly, see what the people of Atlanta and the other cities can come up with.

“The people of Atlanta, like other communities, we want to make sure that we reduce our energy burdens and make sure that we have lower utility costs,” said Dickens.

The Energy Department could pick the finalists by the end of summer.

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