EnerNex Announces Smart Grid Labs Grand Opening Event and Green Button Workshop

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--EnerNex will celebrate “Leaping Forward,” 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.

“EnerNex’s commitment to innovation, grid modernization, and interoperability is woven throughout the Lab’s design. We plan to continue to invest in the Lab’s testing infrastructure to meet the evolving Smart Grid architecture and technologies”

EnerNex Smart Grid Labs is the unveiling of a premiere testing facility for end-to-end Smart Grid device interoperability. 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.

The independent facility simulates a utility substation, control center, residential or light commercial service entrance, residential utility room (washer, dryer, water heater), kitchen, and a living space.

Erich Gunther, EnerNex co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, commented: “To date, our interoperability testing has been for specific utilities and is generally performed at a utility staging site. The expansion of our dedicated Lab facility here in Knoxville, in the heart of Tennessee’s Innovation Valley, will support the growing need for Smart Grid interoperability testing. I cordially invite all those interested to attend our Grand Opening.”

Grand Opening Details

The day kicks off with Smart Grid Lab experts Erich Gunther, Brad Singletary, and Aaron Snyder facilitating an educational workshop led by Marty Burns of Hypertek, on implementing White House CTO, Aneesh Chopra’s, Green Button consumer empowerment concept.

The Green Button workshop will cover: what the Green Button Initiative is and who is implementing it, the expected functionality and value from various stakeholders, and a deep dive into what tools and processes are needed to implement the initiative. For more information take a look at Aneesh Chopra’s inspirational video here. To learn more about the Green Button Initiative, visit: http://www.greenbuttondata.org/

Keynote speeches from industry experts will conclude with a ribbon cutting ceremony presented by the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce and reception to follow.

Throughout the Grand Opening event, attendees, such as utility and manufacturing executives, utility managers, vendors, and industry leaders alike, will have the special opportunity to not only explore the Lab, but to meet and network with EnerNex leaders. Tours of the facility will include two Knowledge Centers focused on Cyber Security and wireless Radio Frequency emissions, as well as demonstrations on each of the six Lab domains.

For a full agenda of the day, as well as more information about the event and how to register, click here.

The Grand Opening event is co-located in Knoxville with the UCA International Users Group (UCAIug) OpenSG series of meetings on Smart Grid interoperability standards requirements and best practices development. For the complete agenda and registration information for OpenSG, click here.

“EnerNex’s commitment to innovation, grid modernization, and interoperability is woven throughout the Lab’s design. We plan to continue to invest in the Lab’s testing infrastructure to meet the evolving Smart Grid architecture and technologies,” said Brad Singletary, Deputy Director.

“This new Lab continues EnerNex programs serving our clients in each of the six domains and further provides a new dedicated facility for those programs,” said Aaron Snyder, Deputy Director.

A fact sheet about Smart Grid Labs is available online in the Newsroom.

For more information, contact Carrie Parks at 865-218-4600 x 6142 or carrie@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.