The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response (CESER) last week announced up to $70 million would be made available for projects working to improve the energy sector’s security.
The security improvements, addressing both physical and cyber concerns, will be united under the administration of the All-Hazards Energy Resilience program. That program seeks means to keep the nation’s energy flow secure and reliable, and it’s looking for a mix of universities, non- and for-profit entities, governmental organizations, and more to do it.
All types of energy delivery infrastructure and the various threats to it will be the focus of funding for up to 25 research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) projects with awards ranging from $500,000 to $5,000,000. While the list is far from exhaustive, the DOE did provide some areas of focus outright, such as:
- Cyber Research and Development – projects to advance cybersecurity and reduce cyber risks to energy delivery infrastructure
- Climate Mitigation Research and Development – projects to create and deploy new solutions to reduce the impact of climate change on energy transmission and reliability
- Wildfire Mitigation Research and Development – identifying ways to harden infrastructure against wildfires and build up resilience and recovery capabilities
- Physical Security Research and Development – pursuing ways to address threats to power stations’ physical security concerns that go beyond traditional surveillance systems, access control, and other current techniques
- University-Based Research and Development – projects to improve the electric sector’s cyber and cyber-physical security postures by integrating university-based research from Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Projects won’t focus on any one area. The many awards to be doled out could span energy production, generation, transmission and/or distribution protections.
“Making smart investments in America’s energy systems today is essential to ensuring they’re more reliable and resilient against tomorrow’s threats, while also reaching President Biden’s ambitious clean energy and climate goals,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said. “As we build our clean energy future, these investments will help save money in the long run by identifying and developing innovative solutions that ensure our nation’s energy infrastructure can withstand emerging threats and the challenges of a changing world.”
Any teams selected must include academic institutions, industry owners, operators, and/or energy sector solution providers. Beyond that, teams are welcome to include nonprofits and for-profits alike, national labs, state and local governments and Tribal Nations.