Georgia Institute of Technology alumni are filling leadership and technical roles across Plant Vogtle, the country's largest nuclear power facility, as the industry positions itself to meet rapidly growing electricity demand tied to data center construction and artificial intelligence. Total US electricity usage is projected to grow 32 percent by 2030, according to the Connected Grid Initiative, and nuclear power, which currently supplies roughly 20 percent of US electricity, is positioned to expand its role because of its reliability compared with wind and solar generation.
Located in Waynesboro, Georgia, roughly 180 miles from Atlanta, Plant Vogtle houses four reactors across a 3,000-acre site and supplies power to more than 1 million homes and businesses daily at a combined generating capacity of 4,800 megawatts. When Southern Company connected Units 3 and 4 to the grid, Georgia became home to the first new nuclear units built in the United States in more than 30 years. Sarah Gillham, a Georgia Tech nuclear and radiological engineering graduate who now manages online controls at the plant, described coordinating the thousands of maintenance activities required to keep the facility's interconnected systems running without service interruptions.
John Williams, a Georgia Tech alumnus who serves as Southern Nuclear's senior vice president of technical services and external affairs, said the successful completion of Vogtle Units 3 and 4 demonstrated that large-scale nuclear construction remains achievable in the United States, and that the company is now focused on maximizing production from its existing units. According to Southern Company, a wind farm would need to cover more than 1,000 square miles to match Plant Vogtle's output, and a single half-inch uranium fuel pellet produces roughly as much energy as 150 gallons of oil.
Georgia Tech's Nuclear and Radiological Engineering and Medical Physics program has adjusted its curriculum to include policy, finance, supply chain, and artificial intelligence coursework alongside traditional engineering training, reflecting demand from industry partners for graduates with a broader skill set. Southern Company, which hired its first Georgia Tech co-op student in 1920, remains one of the university's largest employers, with students currently working alongside Southern Nuclear engineers at the Vogtle site.
Source: Georgia Tech News Center – https://news.gatech.edu/features/2026/04/powering-future