Mendy Lee is the assistant director of the National Carbon Capture Center, a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)-sponsored research facility managed and operated by Southern Company.
Located in Wilsonville, Alabama, the National Carbon Capture Center is an internationally known test facility working to accelerate the development and commercialization of advanced and next-generation technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil-based power plants, and to promote carbon utilization and direct air capture solutions. The center evaluates carbon capture processes from third-party developers and hosts premier research organizations, universities, technology developers and engineering firms from around the world. As assistant director of the center, Lee provides leadership and oversight to implement the project’s technical program, including safe operation of the facility, achievement of contractual objectives and environmental regulatory requirements, management of major subcontracts for technical labor and resources, and overall direction of day-to-day site activities.
Lee possesses industrial operations experience at multiple natural gas combined-cycle facilities and coal-based power plants. She previously worked with Southern Company’s wholesale energy subsidiary, Southern Power, where she served as the operations and maintenance manager at Plant Franklin, near Columbus, Georgia.
Since beginning her career with the Southern Company system in 2000, Lee supported power generation operations at Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power and Savannah Electric, as well as Southern Power. She held a variety of positions, including plant engineer, Savannah Electric; maintenance team leader, Plant Bowen; operations team leader, Plant McDonough; engineering and compliance manager and maintenance manager, Plant Smith; and engineering manager, Plant Miller.
Lee holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Clemson University and an MBA from Georgia Southern University. Lee has been an active mentor to children in low-income schools and promoted engineering for females in the Future City Competition. She has served as a volunteer with hospice organizations across the Southeast.