Cybersecurity Assessment of Remote Islanding Detection for Grid-Integrated PV Systems

Integrating photovoltaic (PV) systems into utility grids presents opportunities and challenges. One critical challenge is detecting and preventing islanding events, where the PV system continues to operate independently and supply power to the grid despite being disconnected. Various islanding detection techniques (IDTs) have been proposed in the literature, including remote IDTs that enable real-time monitoring and control of the PV system. However, the cybersecurity implications of remote IDTs for grid-integrated PV systems have yet to be extensively explored. This paper presents a cybersecurity assessment of a remote IDT for a grid-integrated PV microgrid. The assessment evaluates compliance with international standard recommendations for remote IDTs under cyber-attacks. A real-time co-simulation system is designed to find possible cyber weaknesses and initiate cyber-attacks. The findings emphasize the importance of addressing cybersecurity aspects while implementing remote IDTs in grid-integrated PV systems.