SunSpec Alliance Hosts Second Plug Fest and Application Showcase in Partnership with Moxa

San Jose, CA November 05, 2012

SAN JOSE, CA – November 5, 2012 – The SunSpec Alliance, a global trade association established to create open information standards for solar PV components and the IT systems they interact with, today announced that it will be holding its second SunSpec Plug Fest and Application Showcase in Orange County, California on November 14 and 15. During the Plug Fest and Application Showcase, SunSpec Alliance members will test and demonstrate the interoperability of their systems and applications using SunSpec-compliant hardware.

What: SunSpec Alliance Plug Fest and Application Showcase
Where: Brea, CA
When: Wednesday, November 14 and Thursday, November 15
Who: All solar and renewable energy professionals
Register: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/4536244028?ref=ebtnebregn

As part of the interoperability demonstrations, SunSpec has partnered with Moxa to utilize its recently-launched solar photo-voltaic (PV) array, which is one of the largest solar developments in Orange County at 35,000 square feet and produces over 311 kW DC using 1,133 PV panels and a central inverter.

"Our events in Boston earlier this year were extremely successful at demonstrating the value of SunSpec Alliance open standards, multi-vendor interoperability of PV system components, and the operational continuity that solar asset owners seek," said Tom Tansy, Chairman of the SunSpec Alliance. "Thanks to Moxa's team and the unprecedented level of access that they have granted, we are developing their solar array to be one of the core sites for SunSpec interoperability testing and demonstration going forward, and we are excited to work with them for the upcoming showcase."

The SunSpec Alliance Application Showcase will feature the following:

*Welcome reception, catered lunch, and networking reception featuring table-top displays and additional demos by member companies of the SunSpec Alliance

*Live, on-stage demo of real-time, multi-vendor monitoring of operational solar PV power plants

*Review of information technology standards in renewable generation markets and the U.S. Smart Grid by John Nunneley, Executive Director of the SunSpec Alliance

*Panel of experts discussing how multivendor interoperability is being achieved now in solar PV and what it means for the industry

*2012 U.S. Solar Market Update by Frank Andorka, Managing Editor of Solar Power World

SunSpec Certified: The Solar PV Industry's Mark of Confidence
SunSpec Certified devices (e.g. inverters, meters, weather stations, string combiners, storage) are certified by their manufacturers to be interoperable with any plant data collection device bearing the SunSpec Certified mark. Similarly, any SunSpec Certified plant data collection device is certified by its manufacturer to be interoperable with any SunSpec Certified data store and application.

To receive a SunSpec Certified mark, products must pass a two-part certification test that includes vendor registration of a valid SunSpec Protocol Implementation Conformance Statement (PICS) and successfully passing the SunSpec compliance test for the particular class of component. Both the SunSpec PICS form and SunSpec compliance test are developed in an open process that can be audited and inspected, and both resources can be downloaded by any SunSpec Alliance member. Open publishing ensures transparency and inspires confidence in SunSpec Alliance standards.

In addition to obtaining SunSpec Certification, vendors test their products for interoperability with other SunSpec Certified products to ensure a positive customer experience. Because SunSpec is built upon open standards such as Modbus, TCP/IP, HTTP and Web services, interoperability testing is often conducted over the Internet. Testing is further enhanced by installing SunSpec Certified products in live, operational demonstration sites to prove interoperability under real-life conditions.

About SunSpec Alliance
The SunSpec Alliance is a trade alliance of solar PV industry participants, together pursuing information standards for the renewable energy industry. SunSpec standards address most major sub-systems and operational aspects of PV power plants on the smart grid—including residential, commercial, and utility-scale systems—thus reducing cost, promoting technology innovation, and accelerating industry growth. Over 60 organizations are members of the SunSpec Alliance, including global leaders from Asia, Europe, and North America. Membership is open to corporations, non-profits, and individuals. For more information about the SunSpec Alliance, or to download SunSpec specifications at no charge, please visit http://www.sunspec.org.