EnerNex's New Smart Grid Labs Facility Commences with Grand Opening Event

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

EnerNex celebrated the Grand Opening of the new state-of-the-art Smart Grid Labs testing facility on Wednesday, February 29, 2012, at the firm's headquarters in Knoxville, Tenn.

Close to 200 guests attended the unveiling of EnerNex's Smart Grid Labs, the premiere end-to-end Smart Grid device interoperability evaluation facility. EnerNex hosted an afternoon of activities and an evening of celebration for clients, customers and local leaders, including an innovative workshop on the White House's Green Button Initiative, a ribbon cutting ceremony featuring keynotes by Smart Grid thought leaders, and an open demonstration of the labs end-to-end application interoperability evaluation capability.

Prior to the ribbon cutting ceremony, EnerNex co-founders, Jeff Lamoree, Erich Gunther, and Bob Zavadil spoke to the importance, mission, and vision of the Smart Grid Lab. Guest speakers, Mayor Rogero (City of Knoxville Mayor), Paul De Martini (Managing Director of Newport Consulting), and Rhonda Rice (Executive Vice President of the Knoxville Chamber) spoke to the importance of Smart Grid Labs in the local and Smart Grid communities.

Erich Gunther, EnerNex Chief Technology Officer and Director of Smart Grid Labs, stated: “Thank you to all of those who made the Smart Grid Labs Grand Opening a huge success. This would not have been possible without the support of our platform sponsors, dedicated Smart Grid Labs personnel, our industry advisors, and of course our current clients who are already using the facility. The opening of this Lab represents a key step in evolving the industry from talking about modernizing energy infrastructure to actually doing it.”

After the opening ceremony, guests were invited to tour and interact with the Lab infrastructure and demonstrations showcasing expertise in: Smart Grid communications interoperability, consumer domain interoperability, advanced metering standards, grid design, grid command and control, technology adoption risk management, and security assessment.

EnerNex displayed an interoperability evaluation platform based on client and vendor contributed systems in use or development for today's Smart Grid. The Lab was constructed complete with utility poles, feeder and substation equipment, ruggedized utility communications gear, advanced metering systems from head end to Field Area Networks (FAN) to meter to Home Area Networks (HAN), building automation networks, and consumer targeted Smart Grid devices (TV displays, smart thermostats, tabletop HMI displays, smart kitchen appliances, and smart washer/dryer).

The facility has the support of several key platform sponsors contributing to the design and functionality of the Lab space. Companies including, but not limited to: Arbiter Systems, AutoGrid, Bosch, Control4, Cisco, ecobee, Emerson, eMS, Electro Industries, Energate, GE Appliances, GE Digital Energy, Hindle Power, Itron, Landis+Gyr, Lenoir City Utilities Board, LG Electronics, NovaTech, openPDC, OSIsoft, Power ANalytics, Ruggedcom, SilverSpring Networks, SEL, Sisco, Subnet Solutions, Sub-Zero, TE Connectivity, Tektronix and Trilliant.

To see a full list of platform sponsors, click here.

“Trilliant is pleased to be a platform sponsor for Smart Grid Labs,” said Paul Karr, Vice President of Commercial Operations at Trilliant. “Trilliant is committed to interoperability and collaboration and views the opening of the Smart Grid Lab a key step in bringing the industry together towards the common goal of modernizing our energy infrastructure.”

Earlier in the day, the Green Button workshop was presented by experts of the EnerNex staff supporting the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) personnel, and featuring Nick Sinai from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The Green Button Initiative is a White House led effort which empowers consumers to have access to information on their energy consumption. The SGIP is composed of Smart Grid stakeholder representatives; the panel is tasked with identifying, prioritizing and addressing new and emerging requirements for Smart Grid interoperability and security.

To see pictures from the event, click here.

For more information or a tour of the Lab, please contact one of the Deputy Lab Directors via email: Dr. Aaron Snyder (aaron@enernex.com) or Bradley Singletary (brad@enernex.com).

About EnerNex

EnerNex, established in 2003 and located in Tennessee's Innovation Valley, provides research, engineering and consulting services, for the electric power industry. EnerNex focuses on providing services around the development and application of new and emerging electric power technologies to engineer a cleaner, smarter energy system of the future. The firm serves as the SGIP Administrator under a NIST-awarded contract; for more information on the project, click here.

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About Smart Grid Labs

Covering six domains, the Lab features a variety of pre-conformance, pre-certification, evaluation, and testing to support the following domains: security, consumer, grid, communication, metering, command and control. To view the full list of the Lab's services, click here.