– A broad alliance of energy industry leaders is supporting the US Department of Energy’s national laboratories’ efforts to modernize the energy grid.
– The Assessment of Communication Architectures for Energy Systems (ACAES) project, led by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, is part of the DOE’s 2023 Grid Modernization Initiative.
– The ACAES project aims to identify and mitigate gaps in technology, standards, and processes for grid communications, and provide recommendations for new technology, standards, and practices to ensure grid security with high distributed energy resources penetration.
Artificial intelligence research at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is focused on maintaining the electrical grid. A broad alliance of energy industry leaders, including companies like ABB, Amazon, and Nokia, are supporting the US Department of Energy’s efforts to modernize the energy grid. One project within this initiative, the Assessment of Communication Architectures for Energy Systems (ACAES), is being led by national laboratories and public- and private-sector entities.
The Grid Modernization Initiative (GMI), announced in September 2023, represents a $39 million investment in projects aimed at developing technologies to measure, analyze, predict, protect, and control the future grid. The ACAES project will define secure architectures for grid communications systems crucial for the modern grid. The project, led by PNNL, is analyzing gaps in technology, standards, and processes for grid communications, while also creating a library of cyber-attack scenarios to enhance cybersecurity training and planning.
The increased presence of distributed energy resources and electric vehicles in the grid necessitates secure communication systems. ACAES aims to offer recommendations for new technology, standards, and practices to address potential risks and ensure grid security. The project will also help the energy sector understand changes introduced by DERs and how to maintain grid security for a reliable, affordable, and equitable clean energy future.