As part of a $12 million, six-project effort by the U.S. Department of Energy, Gelli Ravikumar, a research assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Iowa State University, is leading a research team to develop cybersecurity systems that prevent, detect and mitigate attacks on renewable energy sources sending power to the grid.
Solar panels and wind turbines have sensors, controllers, actuators or inverters that are directly or indirectly connected to the internet and many have insecure connectivity to legacy electric grid systems, according to a news release.
Ravikumar’s team received a three-year, $2 million grant from the department to develop a system using artificial intelligence tools. Ravikumar said AI will allow for a quick response to attacks and restoration of critical functions given how energy delivery systems like solar are constantly changing.