The Department of Energy unveiled a $30 million funding opportunity for research, development and demonstration projects that can produce cybersecurity tools to defend clean energy delivery infrastructure against online threats.
DOE said Wednesday that its Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response plans to grant an estimated 10 awards as part of the Biden administration’s initiative to strengthen both the energy sector and national security.
The agency is looking for proposals that involve bolstering virtual power plant cybersecurity as well as enhancing communications security between distributed energy resources and distributed energy resource aggregations.
Projects may also focus on identifying and reducing the risk of attacks on inverter-based energy generation such as wind and solar and novel forensic approaches for infected renewable energy field devices.
“This funding will drive the development of next generation cyber technologies that keep our nation at the forefront of innovation, while protecting our energy infrastructure from increasing cyber threats,” DOE Undersecretary for Infrastructure David Crane remarked. “This work could not be more important or timely as our nation transitions to the clean energy economy.”