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Summary

Because microgrids can island, they can help ensure reliable supply if a cyberattack occurs on the U.S. grid. But what if the microgrid itself becomes the victim of a cyberattack?  This presentation looks inside the Ameren microgrid, a project that is unique because its control system relies on distributed architecture, which multiplies the microgrid’s ability to maintain a defense against a cyberattack. The result of work with the military, the microgrid’s control system is the only one to receive an Authority to Operate (ATO) designation from the Department of Defense. Now operating in Champaign, Illinois, the Ameren microgrid also is one of the most complex utility microgrids built to date.  It is first to be installed by an investor-owned utility that allows a microgrid to island customers on an active feeder. And it is one of the few microgrids in the world that operates at utility-scale voltages and has multiple levels of control.

Speaker

Tamer Rousan, Ameren