Full Title: Cybersecurity Considerations for Distributed Energy Resources on the U.S. Electric Grid
Author(s): U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response
Publisher(s): US Department of Energy
Publication Date: October 6, 2022
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
To address the impacts of climate change, the U.S. electric grid will be undergoing significant changes by integrating clean energy resources such as solar and wind. These efforts will be accelerated with the recent passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. Furthermore, electric customers will continue to adopt intelligent energy devices, including smart lighting and thermostats, which will be able to communicate with rooftop solar, electric vehicles, and more. These efforts will be critical for combating climate change and providing resilience benefits before, during, and after major events. However, as the U.S. electric grid undergoes these changes, it will be important to ensure that cybersecurity is incorporated into new devices, systems, and infrastructure and that “security by design” is a core component of these systems.
As such, this report provides an overview of cybersecurity considerations that should be considered by the electric sector, including utilities and distributed energy resources (DER) operators, providers, integrators, developers, and vendors (collectively, “the DER industry”), as well as policymakers as we embark on this transformational change to the U.S. electric grid. This report is not meant to be a comprehensive review of cybersecurity considerations in the DER industry, but rather encourage a dialogue and further conversations between industry and government stakeholders.