Who is Affinity Energy?
We are a control systems integrator with in-depth energy expertise.
Affinity Energy is an open systems control systems integrator with a national portfolio of over 800 power automation projects and a rich depth of expertise. We regularly work with mission critical facilities, distributed generation plants, energy companies, engineering firms, and construction contractors who seek open, turnkey systems for power management and energy optimization.
Our experienced engineers’ design, build, implement, and support controls, instrumentation, and monitoring systems, during the design and/or build phases of a new construction or retrofit project for utility-scale solar farms, utility-scale battery energy storage systems, airports, data centers, medical campus central energy plants, and manufacturing companies.
Our Customers
Affinity Energy only handles projects in the United States
Affinity Energy - A world-class control systems integrator
We are a team of experts
With over 800 power automation projects behind us, we have the integration expertise and background to help your organization operate efficiently, reliably, and safely. We take pride in our wide range of knowledge and capabilities. As continuous improvement is one of our core values, we challenge every team member to pursue regular training, obtain certifications, and attend industry-specific conferences to better serve our clients’ needs.
Providing the best systems and services possible
At Affinity Energy, we’re driven to unlock the potential of today’s energy resources by providing the best systems and services possible, thus allowing our customers to focus on what they do best.
Turnkey
While we can service a total turnkey solution, we are also happy to take on smaller, individual projects. We look at the entire system, from onsite troubleshooting to programming a fully customized SCADA system so you won't end up with project gaps.
Consultative
Because we're an open systems integrator, we design customized solutions that meet your environment's unique production, efficiency, safety, and ROI goals. We feel that giving customers multiple choices enables them to operate more efficiently and cost-effectively.
Communication
We strive to communicate clearly and thoroughly with our clients. Our company size and attitude allow us to immerse ourselves into every project, so much so that our clients feel that we are an extension of their team. To us, that's the key to being valued consultants.
OUR HISTORY
Affinity Energy (originally Affinity Automation) was founded in 2002 as a systems integrator specializing in electrical power management systems (EPMS). Our many successes integrating systems at manufacturing plants and critical facilities resulted in the rapid growth of our size and services.
Because of our extensive SCADA background and strong partnerships with mechanical and electrical contractors, we quickly experienced success as a SCADA systems integrator for central energy plants. By 2007, we began leveraging our knowledge of temperature control systems to expand our services to commercial buildings and enterprise energy management systems.
In 2010, we examined our strengths, surveyed the market, and thought critically about how to deliver the best value proposition to customers and partners. The result is a plan that focuses on mission critical and distributed generation instrumentation, controls, and SCADA systems. Direct results of our plans came in 2013 when we became certified as a Trihedral VTSCADA system integrator.
In 2014, our Renewable Energy division was formed as we started successfully assisting utility-scale solar farm developers, owners, and EPCs in meeting contractual and operational requirements through solar SCADA and instrumentation.
In 2016, Affinity Automation rebranded as Affinity Energy – a direct reflection of our progression as a foremost expert in energy-related ventures.
In 2017, we were awarded our first of many utility-scale PV (photovoltaic) solar projects in the U.S. Then, in 2018, Affinity Energy was selected as an integrator partner with DC Blox, a geographically dispersed data center operator. That same year, we became an Inductive Automation certified systems integrator for our work on the Bank of America tower in Charlotte.
In 2020, we received the Sapphire Award Sales Tier Award from VTSCADA by Trihedral for our expertise in SCADA control systems. In 2021, we were awarded the first of many utility-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) projects with the world’s largest generator of renewable energy.
In 2022, Affinity Energy celebrated its 20th anniversary as a control system integrator and was voted by the Charlotte Business Journal as a Best Place to Work in 2022. Throughout the company’s history, we have always remained committed to providing the best service to our customers by hiring exceptional engineers and staff who believe in our mission.
Today, we are proud to be named one of America’s most trusted integrators. We have a diversified portfolio of more than 4 GW of renewable energy projects, 2+ GW of power and energy projects, and 1+ GW of utility-scale PV solar and BESS projects successfully deployed and managed by our team of experts.
OUR MISSION
To unlock the potential of today’s energy resources by providing systems and services that allow mission-critical facilities and distributed generation plants to operate efficiently, reliably, and safely.
OUR VISION
To be the leader in energy information solutions by:
Creatively applying innovative technology
Operating with a customer-centered mentality
Having a narrowly focused growth strategy
OUR CORE VALUES
- Pursue balance in life – work, home, and community
- Set the bar high
- Strive to build trust through honesty and vulnerability
- Integrate health and safety in all we do — internally and externally
- Embrace continuous learning
- Seek a better way
An Interview with Allan Evora,Affinity Energy President & Control Systems Integrator
A: Let me explain it with a car analogy.
Driving a car requires you to use the brake system, steering system, and electrical system. All the different components you use to operate your car are centrally managed via the car’s brain, or control system. The control system provides feedback on how fast you’re going, warns you that your seatbelt isn’t on, and engages safety features of the car.
What we do at Affinity Energy is coordinate that central piece, that behind-the-scenes brain that ties all that equipment together…but instead of working with cars, we work with power and energy systems at energy plants, solar farms, and data centers. All of their equipment, whether a generator providing power or a chiller providing cooled water, must be controlled, monitored, and managed.
We plan, engineer, and design that system, and ultimately provide operators with the means to operate, maintain, and control their facility!
A: At the end of the day, customers should understand that it’s not only the technical expertise of a system integrator that counts, but how they execute their business. System integration is more than just the physical act of connecting systems, programming control sequences, and developing HMIs. Your system integrator should provide you with a comprehensive engineered solution.
Are you getting documentation and drawings? Are they going through proper quality or acceptance testing procedures? Are you getting customized O&M manuals?
In Affinity Energy’s case, our deliverable is much more comprehensive today than it was 10 years ago.
A: After my employer was sold to GE in 2001, I make the decision between employment within a very large multinational corporation or branching off on my own.
There was no doubt in my mind that my career and my future was in power and energy industry in controls systems integration. And I really enjoyed the smaller company atmosphere, making decisions on the fly, using a wider breadth of skills, and not getting caught up in administrative bureaucracy.
I took a risk and pursued the entrepreneurial path. In June, 2002, Affinity Energy was born.
A: Security. Due to recent events, whether its hackers infiltrating water systems or messing with building automation, there is even more scrutiny in security.
Electric generation has always had significant perimeter security. But with more smart instruments and controls accessible through networks and wireless, the ability for an undesirable to take control is greater than ever. Making sure devices or instruments are protected against unauthorized access has been at the forefront of a lot of discussions lately.
A: In some ways, the power and energy industry is lagging behind what has already occurred in manufacturing. There are a lot of great tools that have allowed manufacturing facilities to decrease downtime and increase quality. Those are just now coming into the electrical distribution and controls space, slowly bringing the power and energy industry into the 21st century.
Our customers are being forced to do more with less. As a result, we’ve seen a significant reduction in mission critical operations staff. But at the same time the amount of information, how quickly you can acquire it, who you can route it to…it’s all growing. Most of our customers say it’s overwhelming. For the most part, our customers only have time to operate on a need-to-know basis. They don’t want to know when everything is working fine, only when something’s abnormal.
As a system integrator, our #1 priority is to make our customers lives easier, not harder. So, we’ve taken the challenge by the horns, working to understand exactly how important certain pieces of information are to certain customers. Are those items actionable, or do they just need to be logged? Does this need to show up as an alert? Who does this piece of information actually need to go to? Does the data show efficiency-increasing opportunities our customers are unaware of?
A: Recently, I’ve make a conscious decision to bring in young professionals. Within the last several years, there’s been a convergence in using open IT standards.
Instead of the industrial-specific protocols and technologies the older workforce is familiar with, the industry is utilizing IT protocols. Not only just on the security front, but also when developing graphics and working with databases. Even though they may not be as experienced, our younger generation workforce has helped us be better equipped and cost effective in dealing with those challenges.
A: I originally started in aerospace engineering, but after seven years saw great opportunity in power and energy. The electrical transmission and distribution infrastructure in the United States is extremely old. It’s pretty much been the same since it was originally designed.
In the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, there was a great transition from electromechanical to digital. I realized that by switching industries, I actually had the opportunity to be part of something huge.
I originally founded Affinity Energy as a systems integration firm involved in electrical substation upgrades for electric utility companies, and we took advantage of the switch to digital during the transformation of how substations were monitored, controlled, and protected. Since then, we’ve adjusted our focus to include mission critical facilities, but have maintained our focus on power and energy systems.
A: One of the biggest skills required as a control systems integrator is solving problems. For the most part, each project has its own unique set of requirements, so it doesn’t get boring.
For some, that can be a double-edged sword. You’re constantly challenged to come up with new solutions to what seems like a never-ending list of requirements. Personally, that challenge is something I love.
A: The energy density in some critical facilities, like data enters and energy plants, continues to grow day by day. This, coupled with the growing amount of data that can be acquired, means there’s always a bigger challenge to be solved. Every day we face unique challenges in how best to optimize the facility we’re working on. It’s a thrill to be an integral part of that process.