Camera bulbs were flashing and people were buzzing as GE Energy gave lawmakers and media members a sneak peak of its Smart Grid Technology Center of Excellence at 2018 Powers Ferry Road on Thursday morning.

GE executives, Gov. Sonny Perdue, U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss and other state and local policymakers shared their excitement about the company's decision to open its Smart Grid headquarters in Cobb. The center will add 400 high-paying, local jobs, more than half being engineers, and offer solutions to energy conservation.

"A lot of places could have had these jobs, but the elected officials responsible for this state made this an easy place to do business," GE Vice Chairman John Rice said. "We can compete locally from Cobb County, and we've never not been able to get good people to work here."

GE is renovating the existing building and there is still interior work to be completed before employees move in next month.

Luke Clemente, general manager of metering and sensing systems for GE Digital Energy, said the facility will house the global headquarters of GE's Digital Energy business and will include a Smart Grid engineering laboratory. He said the center would also include a smart grid customer solutions showcase, which will "feature hands-on interactive displays that can help visitors from throughout the world understand the challenges and opportunities inherent in delivering electricity over the power grid."

Smart Grid technologies provide information to customers that allow them to determine their peak cost hours and cut their use of electricity accordingly, Clemente said, as it costs the utility more money to generate electricity during periods of high demand.

Perdue said GE has been the icon for energy and electricity since he was born, and that the company's Smart Grid technologies are good for the environment as well as consumers' checkbooks.

"The world will become increasingly smaller and more competitive, but the good news is that this is not just about the 400 jobs, but it's also about the solutions this facility will bring to our society as we become hungry for energy conservation," Perdue said.

Chambliss said GE's new Smart Grid technology lab and research headquarters will not only be an asset to Georgia, but the entire world.

"To think of the world today, the number one issue in the long-term is energy. GE is the world-wide leader, so having them here is a great factor of pride for Georgians," Chambliss said.

Clemente said GE already has 5,000 employees in metro Atlanta, with 2,500 of those working at the company's Wildwood Parkway office complex across the street from the new center.

One of those recently hired to work at the Powers Ferry complex is Zachary Reinhardt. The 22-year-old graduate of Southern Polytechnic State University said the hiring process took four months, from the date he applied to the date he was formally hired, April 19. Reinhardt is currently working as a software engineer for smart meters at the Wildwood complex until the new facility is finished.

"We're all very excited to move in and be a part of something we know is really important," Reinhardt said.

Bob Gilligan, vice president of GE Digital Energy, said the company is investing $15 million in the facility and $2 million in a partnership with Georgia Institute of Technology to develop "the next generation of innovators."

Cobb Economic Development Department Director Michael Hughes said he and the county have been involved in trying to get GE to expand in Cobb "since the beginning." Hughes said the company first contacted state officials, who then contacted him around nine months ago to facilitate the possible expansion.

"I think the quality of the labor force, the government's willingness to work with them and really the availability of the building in such close proximity of their current office really told them that this is a good place to stay and grow," Hughes said. "I certainly hope they will continue to grow here as the company expands."

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle said, "We have implemented initiatives to make sure that companies are in an environment where they can be successful and hire people. The government doesn't create jobs, but it does create an environment where that can happen. It is very much in the realm of possibilities that we could one day become the science Mecca of the world."

State Sen. John Wiles and Cobb government officials were also in attendance Thursday.