Department of Energy to provide up to $70M for energy sector’s physical, cyber protections
Physical and cyber support for the nation’s energy sector was front and center for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) last week, with the announcement of up to $70 million for related research projects.
Managed by DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response (CESER), the All-Hazards Energy Resilience program is pushing for means to tackle future challenges to reliable energy, and to secure energy systems against disruption. The mandate and funding opportunity here is therefore broad, with applicants encouraged to pursue unique solutions spanning all types of energy delivery infrastructure and the various threats to it. CESER could fund up to 25 research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) projects with awards ranging from $500,000 to $5,000,000.
“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.”
While the projects’ range and reach potential are extensive, the DOE proposed several topic areas of its own, 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
Any teams selected must consist of academic institutions, industry owners, operators, and/or energy sector solution providers. Diversity is key in this push, and the DOE called for teams inclusive of nonprofits and for-profits, national labs, state and local governments and Tribal Nations.
