Businesses that install and own solar distributed energy resources increase their attack surface and that of the electric grid.
High energy costs and concerns over the stability and capacity of electric grids are leading businesses to evaluate and implement their own onsite energy generation systems. These onsite systems, referred to as distributed energy resources (DERs), are most commonly solar panel arrays, often paired with batteries to store energy for later use.
DERs are usually connected to the grid so that business can sell electricity they don’t use to the utilities. They might also connect with an organization’s internal systems and third parties that monitor and manage the DER.
This connectivity creates new points of vulnerability that organizations must take into account when assessing risk. Potential risks range from disrupting a single DER to compromising the electrical grid itself.
A key component of solar DERs is the smart inverter, which connects to the electrical grid but is not owned by the utility. Inverters manage the flow of energy to and from the DER and the electrical grid. They sense grid conditions and communicate with the electric utility, so they play a key role in power availability, safety and grid stability.
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