NIST is obligating a portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds allocated through the Department of Energy to the contract to NIST. The contract awarded would run for up to two years if all options are exercised with an estimated cost of approximately $8.5m.
The first task of EnerNex’s would establish and administer a Smart Grid Interoperability Standards Panel to identify, prioritize and address new and emerging requirements for Smart Grid interoperability and security. This work would develop the initial NIST Smart Grid Interoperability Standards Framework (Release 1.0), expected to be released in September for public comment.
Release 1.0 would identify the first set of key standards and provide a roadmap for developing new or revised standards critical to Smart Grid development. It would also describe a reference model to help organize the Smart Grid and identify linkages among many varied Smart Grid components, including household appliances, utilities, windmills and electric vehicles.
The panel would consist of key Smart Grid stakeholders, including utilities, independent power producers, federal agencies, state regulators, equipment manufacturers, consumer groups and developers of information technology applications and devices. The panel would also interact with expert working groups, a cyber security coordination task group, and other volunteer technical bodies established by NIST during this first phase of its Smart Grid efforts.
EnerNex would also work with NIST, the private-sector, and non-profit organizations to begin establishing a testing and certification infrastructure that will ensure Smart Grid-related software, hardware and services conforming to standards. In addition, the contract calls for EnerNex to build a publicly accessible “interoperability knowledge base.”
NIST, under the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007, has “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.”
The Smart Grid integrates information and networking technologies into the nation’s electric system to enable advanced control and communication capabilities.
