MIT Research: Solar Energy and Batteries Hold Promise for Stabilizing the Grid after Cyberattacks

Recently, engineers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have put forward a rather forward - looking research finding: In the event of cyberattacks or extreme weather, devices such as residential solar panels, batteries, electric vehicles, heat pumps, and water heaters are expected to jointly build a local electricity market, thereby restoring power supply and relieving the pressure on the grid.

As the proportion of distributed energy resources in the power grid continues to increase, the potential risks brought about by cyberattacks have gradually become prominent, posing a severe challenge to the stability of the power grid. In the paper "Enabling Grid Resilience through Trusted IoT - Coordinated Assets" published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, MIT researchers pointed out that although distributed energy brings many conveniences, it also introduces new security risks to the power grid.

However, the researchers found that grid - edge devices and Internet - of - Things (IoT) devices could be the key to solving this problem. These devices, which are distributed near the user end and include common items such as rooftop solar panels, electric vehicle chargers, and smart thermostats, can play an important role in unexpected power outages and other emergencies by forming a local electricity market.

To realize this vision, the MIT team proposed an innovative framework named Eureica (Efficient, Ultra - Resilient IoT - Coordinated Assets). Based on the assumption that most grid - edge devices will be connected to the IoT in the future, this framework aims to enable various devices to achieve wireless interconnection and build a large - scale distributed device network.

At the same time, the research team also developed an intelligent algorithm. Once the main power grid is attacked or malfunctions, the algorithm will be quickly activated to evaluate the credibility of the devices in the local electricity market, screen out the trustworthy devices, and find the best combination of devices to deal with the power failure. After that, the algorithm will accurately calculate and coordinate the amount of electricity that each device should input into or reduce from the grid, and the owners of the participating devices will receive corresponding market compensation.

During the research process, the team simulated a variety of possible power grid attack scenarios, covering various severe weather conditions that may cause energy transmission interruptions at different levels and nodes of the power grid. The test results show that even when the power loss is between 5% - 40% each time, this algorithm can still effectively stabilize the power grid and minimize the impact caused by attacks or malfunctions.

Anu Ananthaswamy, a research scientist in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT, said, "Every small device can contribute to adjusting its own energy consumption. As long as we make full use of devices such as smart dishwashers, rooftop solar panels, and electric vehicles, we can significantly improve the stability of the power grid."

Of course, the research team is also keenly aware that there are still many challenges to truly establish such a local electricity market. Not only is the support of customers, policymakers, and local officials needed, but also technological breakthroughs are required. For example, the development of advanced power inverters that enable electric vehicles to transmit power back to the grid.

Anu Ananthaswamy emphasized, "This is just the first step towards the construction of a local electricity market. There is still a lot of work that needs to be advanced rapidly. However, this is undoubtedly a promising and good start." This research provides a new idea and direction for improving the stability of the power grid under special circumstances and is expected to play an important role in the future energy field.