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Technical Lecture

Photovoltaic (PV) Inverters and Micro Inverters

T13.1 - Methods to Enhance Cybersecurity of Multiple Inverters in Large Grid Connected PV / Battery Energy Storage Systems

Wednesday, March 19, 2025
8:30 AM – 8:50 AM ET
Location: Level Three, A316
This paper discusses methods to enhance the cybersecurity of multiple inverters in large grid-connected PV/Battery Energy Storage Systems (ESS). Using data from a 2.5 MW solar PV system and a 1.1 MW battery ESS at CenterPoint Energy’s Volkman site, various sensor False Data Injection (SFDI) attack scenarios within Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) are analyzed. These inverters are vulnerable to attacks targeting the Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) and sensor data. To mitigate these threats, side-channel monitoring on the PLC and the injection of a unique watermark (small random voltage variation) into the inverter’s DC link voltage are employed. This watermark helps detect intrusions in inverter sensor signals. Preliminary results from a Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) system, based on real data from CenterPoint Energy’s solar farm, demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach. The final paper will include a comprehensive evaluation of multiple false data injection points on the grid-connected PV/Battery system.