Energy Security

[AdamG]

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Security researcher Brian Wallace was on the trail of hackers who had snatched a California university’s housing files when he stumbled onto a larger nightmare: Cyberattackers had opened a pathway into networks running the United States power grid.

Digital clues pointed to Iranian hackers. And Wallace found that they had already taken passwords, as well as engineering drawings of dozens of power plants, at least one with the title ‘‘Mission Critical.’’



The drawings were so detailed that experts say skilled attackers could have used them, along with other tools and malicious code, to knock out electricity flowing to millions of homes. The breach involved Calpine Corp., a power producer with 82 plants operating in 18 states and Canada.


http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nati...ed_ArticleText

[Firn]

Power generation is already slowly becoming more and more decentralized. If, and a big if at that, battery prices continue come down storage should also become increasing so. Such a structure is obviously far harder to physically knock out.

Smart grid, large scale grid integration in general and long range UHV ultra high voltage transmission could make the grid on the other hand more vulnerable to physical and cyberattacks.

I'm curious how this plays out in the long run, although with adequate investments even the direct energy security the ups outhweigh the downs in my humble guess.

[Ulenspiegel]

Power generation is already slowly becoming more and more decentralized. If, and a big if at that, battery prices continue come down storage should also become increasing so. Such a structure is obviously far harder to physically knock out.

Smart grid, large scale grid integration in general and long range UHV ultra high voltage transmission could make the grid on the other hand more vulnerable to physical and cyberattacks.

I'm curious how this plays out in the long run, although with adequate investments even the direct energy security the ups outhweigh the downs in my humble guess.

From a purly economic and physical POV better transmission grid integration is the most useful solution. Wind power is, when we talk in European scale, not correlated, this means you can get a base-load like situation on most days simply by more transmission capacity, therefore, no huge amount of short term storage is needed.

Long-term storage needs could be covered by Norway/Sweden, again, more transmission is needed. A wind heavy scenario in northern Europe plus PV in the south would my path to go.

The basics are nicly described in the dissertation of Gregor Czisch.

[AdamG]

An Iranian hactivist group has claimed responsibility for a cyberattack that gave it access to the control system for a dam in the suburbs of New York — and intrusion that one official said may be "just the tip of the iceberg."

The group, SOBH Cyber Jihad, sent a message through another Iran-linked hacker outfit, Parastoo, promising that it would release the technical information that proves it was behind the 2013 breach, according to Flashpoint Intelligence.

The hackers claimed they kept quiet about the attack for two years because of a "state-level" warning not to go public with it "for the greater good."

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/...rk-dam-n484611

[davidbfpo]

After a short delay in Morocco:

The Noor I power plant is located near the town of Ouarzazate, on the edge of the Sahara. It's capable of generating up to 160 megawatts of power and covers thousands of acres of desert, making the first stage alone one of the world's biggest solar thermal power plants.

Link:http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/02/04/465568055/morocco-unveils-a-massive-solar-power-plant-in-the-sahara?

Interesting that this is funded by the World Bank, to reduce Morocco's dependence on external sources of power.

[davidbfpo]

A recent IISS event on these issues 'Threat multipliers: the changing energy landscape, climate change, and water stress' with a recording (63 mins); the introduction:

Over the last decade an advisory group of retired admirals and generals has come together to examine the intersection of national security, the changing energy landscape and climate change. In this panel discussion members of the CNA Military Advisory Board addressed changing energy and water security as potential threat multipliers for fragile regions of the world.

Link:http://www.iiss.org/en/events/arunde...te-change-af78

There are other threads on climate change and water supply.

[Firn]

I'm now more confident then ever that Energy Security can be achieved a rather low costs and within a not so long time frame. This is of course very unspecific but at the core the matter is very clear.

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I also want to thank all the participants of this thread as it helped me a lot to clarify some thoughts and to gain personally. Without it I would not have achieved the mental conviction and discipline in certain key matters...