A new Iowa-based cybersecurity center will help the power industry protect distributed energy resources such as wind and solar farms from grid problems and attacks. Enlarged photo. Photo by Christopher Gannon.
AMES, Iowa – Bringing renewable energy to the power grid creates all sorts of Internet of Things problems, said Manimaran Govindaras of Iowa State University.
That's because “everything is connected,” said Distinguished Professor of Engineering Anson Marston.
Solar power inverters are connected to the internet. Wind farm controllers are connected to the internet. Additionally, each connection to the internet can make energy resources distributed in rural areas more vulnerable to cyberattacks. If this happens, power transmission may be interrupted or power outages may occur.
To help the power industry protect itself, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has selected a project led by Iowa State University engineers for a two-year, $2.5 million grant. Project partners will also contribute $1 million in cost-share funding, including equipment and labor costs.
The funding will create a new cybersecurity center based in Iowa called CyDERMS, the DER and Microgrid Integrated Distribution System Cybersecurity and Resiliency Center. DERs are distributed energy resources such as wind farms, solar power plants, and energy storage technologies. A microgrid is a local DER grid system that can be connected to or separated from a larger grid. Closing or isolating grid connections can help maintain service during cyberattacks or damaging storms.
DOE recently announced a $15 million grant to establish six university-based centers to address region-specific cybersecurity and workforce training needs. Other center lead campuses are in Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Texas.
“This investment in a university-based cybersecurity center will allow us to simultaneously expand America's cyber workforce and build the expertise needed to counter evolving cyber threats to our nation's energy system. ,” said Puesh M. Kumar, DOE director. Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response.
The Iowa-based center will be led by Govindaras, the Murray J. Harpole and Ruth M. Harpole Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a senior scientist at DOE's Ames National Laboratory. . Four other Iowa State researchers will also be affiliated with the center. (See sidebar.)
Additionally, the center's project team will include researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Michigan Technological University, GE Vernova, Argonne National Laboratory, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. (See supplement for citations from CyDERMS university partners.)
The center's industry advisory board includes representatives from Central Iowa Electric Cooperative, Xcel Energy, Hubbell, Hitachi Energy, and MITER.
Govindarasu said CyDERMS has two main purposes.
First, the center's researchers will develop robust computer algorithms and other tools to detect and mitigate cyber-attacks and system failures in real time. Protect your microgrid. Researchers plan to use artificial intelligence and machine learning tools to help detect grid issues and malicious activity.
And second, strengthen the grid industry's cybersecurity workforce by developing curriculum modules, capstone design projects, cyber defense competitions, and practical workshops for industry and utility employees, including local communities. I plan to.
“This will be a university-based cybersecurity research center for renewable energy on the electrical grid,” Govindaras said. “We're working with local industry in Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois and Michigan to understand and address their needs. That's what we're emphasizing here.”
This is a difficult challenge because renewable resources are located in the cities, towns, and rural areas of the Midwest.
“There are controllers and inverters everywhere,” Govindaras says. “We have wind farms, rooftop solar, community solar, commercial solar, etc. The opportunities for attack compared to the traditional power grid are huge.”
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