The hurrying pace of societal electrification is encouraging from a climate perspective. But the transition away from fossil fuels toward renewable sources like wind presents new risks that are not yet fully understood.
Researchers from Concordia and Hydro-Quebec presented a new study on the topic in Glasgow, United Kingdom at the 2023 IEEE International Conference on Communications, Control, and Computing Technologies for Smart Grids (SmartGridComm). Their study explores the risks of cyberattacks faced by offshore wind farms. Specifically, the researchers considered wind farms that use voltage-source-converter high-voltage direct-current (VSC-HVDC) connections, which are rapidly becoming the most cost-effective solution to harvest offshore wind energy around the world.
“As we advance the integration of renewable energies, it is imperative to recognize that we are venturing into uncharted territory, with unknown vulnerabilities and cyber threats,” says Juanwei Chen, a PhD student at the Concordia Institute for Information Systems Engineering (CIISE) at the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science.
Read More: Concordia University
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