Distributed Energy Resource Visual Emulator: Phase 1

Research output: NRELTechnical Report

Abstract

To help federal energy managers assess, monitor, and manage cybersecurity while achieving decarbonization, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Distributed Energy Resource Cybersecurity Framework (DER-CF) offers a comprehensive, web-based assessment tool focusing on cyber governance or policies, technical management, and physical security. The DER-CF currently presents users with a series of pertinent cybersecurity questions, which are used to generate a site-specific report and recommendations. This paper outlines a technical approach to integrate the DER-CF with another key asset - NREL's Advanced Research on Integrated Energy Systems (ARIES) Cyber Range - to visualize cybersecurity resilience and compliance and to enhance the usability and accessibility of the DER-CF. The result is a new tool called the Distributed Energy Resource Visual Emulator (DER-VE). Its development will include regular conversations with stakeholders to assess the effectiveness of these efforts, refine the visualization capability, and ensure its value to our partners. Phase 0 of the integration project was concluded in 2021. Phase 1, completed in 2022, has two components: The first is developing a working visualization of system compliance using the DER-CF, and the second is planning the design of a server application that takes input data from the DER-CF and creates a personal emulated environment of the user's system or a selected reference architect. Major components that were addressed in this phase are the DER-CF output, compliance visualization, data model, and compliance server design.
Original languageAmerican English
Number of pages18
DOIs
StatePublished - 2023

NREL Publication Number

  • NREL/TP-5R00-84079

Keywords

  • cyber range
  • cybersecurity
  • decarbonization
  • Distributed Energy Resource Cybersecurity Framework
  • electricity systems
  • energy system planning
  • technology integration
  • visualization

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