EnerNex[R] Corporation Awarded NIST Contract in Support of Nation's Smart Grid Deployment.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Knoxville-based EnerNex([R]) Corporation was recently awarded a contract by the U.S. Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in support of the Smart Grid interoperability standards development and harmonization effort.

Under the $8.5 million contract, EnerNex will help NIST develop a Smart Grid interoperability panel composed of representatives of Smart Grid stakeholders; the panel will carry on the continuing, long-term task of identifying, prioritizing and addressing new and emerging requirements for Smart Grid interoperability and security. The company also will organize a Smart Grid Governance Board to advise the panel and to review and approve the panel's recommendations to EnerNex.

Other tasks specified in the contract include developing a knowledge database and related tools to accelerate progress in developing and implementing standards to enable widespread deployment of an interoperable and secure smart electric power grid.

This publicly accessible "interoperability knowledge base" (IKB) will be a repository of use case narratives, existing Smart Grid standards, and emerging requirements for standards. Development of the IKB will be coordinated closely with other repositories, such as the recently announced U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Smart Grid Clearinghouse website.

EnerNex also will help NIST to engage publicly with a broad stakeholder community to ensure the standards and best practices utilized to create a smarter, more modern grid are consistent and harmonized.

Erich Gunther, EnerNex Chief Technology Officer, co-founder, and the project's stakeholder relationship management lead, stated: "EnerNex is extremely pleased and honored to have been selected through NIST's competitive procurement process. We are humbled to be a part of such a fundamental project for the nation's evolution of a more reliable and secure Smart Grid." Gunther continued by stating, "Our broad domain expertise and proven ability to coordinate multiple groups and organizations will allow for the significant acceleration of existing and new standards development, adoption, and conformance."

EnerNex has participated, as a subcontractor, in previous parts of the NIST-coordinated effort. It contributed to the nearly 300-page Report to NIST on the Smart Grid Interoperability Standards Roadmap, delivered to NIST by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) in June.

Stuart McCafferty, the EnerNex Project Manager, stated, "Our project team has picked up where the previous team left off. There is no learning curve, and we have already begun addressing the initial project deliverables."

This project will also identify areas where conformity assessment activities, such as certification, accreditation, calibration and testing, and training, can facilitate the implementation of the Smart Grid and a framework and process to determine how and which standards require testing and certification.

Jeff Lamoree, President of EnerNex, said, "This initiative is key and vital to the health of our nation's electrical grid; the EnerNex team is proud and honored to be a part of it."

The EnerNex core project team includes Clasma Events, Inc., Hypertek, Inc., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and the UCA International Users Group (UCAIug).

The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 assigned NIST to have "primary responsibility to coordinate development of a framework that includes protocols and model standards for information management to achieve interoperability of smart grid devices and systems." As specified in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), NIST will receive $10 million through the DOE to carry out responsibilities assigned under EISA. This contract represents a portion of that effort.

For more specifics on the NIST project, visit http://www.nist.gov/smartgrid/.

EnerNex Corporation, established in 2003, provides engineering and consulting services, along with software solutions and customization, 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. For more information on EnerNex, visit www.enernex.com.