Washington, D.C. — Hanley Wood, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and EMerge Alliance announced that a Net Zero Zone will be unveiled at the 2014 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo taking place at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans Oct. 22-24.
“Driven by the innovative work of EMerge Alliance and its members, the launch of the new Net Zero Zone will make Greenbuild 2014 the first conference and expo to have exhibition space where booths are fully powered by an on-site microgrid including alternate energy generation, storage and distribution,” said Lindsay Roberts, show director, Greenbuild. “This is an important step for the trade show industry and sends a strong message to the entire green building movement that hybrid power in buildings is both possible and practical.”
The Net Zero Zone at Greenbuild will focus on three areas:
- The Net Zero Pavilion, a specially designated exhibit area inside the expo hall, powered by the microgrid, showcasing 11 exhibitors in 1,500 square feet of exhibit space
- Net Zero Networking Lounge where sponsor representatives and educational presentations are available to all show attendees
- An outdoor demonstration of typical on-site solar electricity generation that is connected directly to in-building hybrid microgrid storage and distribution equipment adjacent to the Net Zero Networking Lounge
The official launch of the Net Zero Zone will take place Oct. 22 at 10:30 a.m. in the Net Zero Networking Lounge located on Level 2 of the Morial Convention Center.
Designed using EMerge Alliance standards for the hybrid use of alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) power in buildings, the Net Zero Zone showcases the efficiency, reliability and resiliency of hybrid microgrids–systems of local electric power generation, storage and distribution that can operate either in combination with the local utility grid or in isolation from it. Booths in the Net Zero Zone will demonstrate the seamless capability of autonomously operating both on, off and in combination with the local utility grid.