Mission
The US Department of Energy’s SPaRC program is leading grid communications research and development through a multi-National Lab virtual testbed, designed to design, test, evaluate, and benchmark next-generation secure communications architectures and technologies.
What is Secure Grid Communications?
A secure communications system protects the end-to-end physical pathway that transports data from origin to destination. That pathway may involve different transmission methods—such as optical fiber, copper wire, and wireless technologies—and will transport a diversity of data, including grid state information and control messaging in a variety of analog and digital formats. Securing this end-to-end communications pathway—which is essential for reliable grid operations—involves preventing unauthorized access, as well as monitoring traffic to identify anomalous activity without compromising the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of the data. Communications security methods complement the cybersecurity approaches used to protect data at origin and destination.
Key SPaRC Activities
SPARC consists of three principal lines of effort:
| Grid Communications Testbed | Next-Generation Communications Experiments | Education & Technical Assistance |
| The SPaRC program includes a multi-National Lab grid communications testbed to design, deploy, and benchmark technologies to strengthen the security of grid communications. This testbed includes a high-speed interconnected mesh network between the labs, as well as unique National Lab resources such as Idaho National Lab’s wireless test range, Oak Ridge National Lab’s alternative timing and synchronization lab, and Sandia National Labs’ distributed energy resources. | The SPaRC program includes subject matter experts (SMEs) in grid communications, radio frequency (RF) engineering, power systems engineering, communications architectures, signal processing, data science, and more. These scientists and engineers will test communications technologies, protocols, and topologies in a grid-connected, end-to-end field network. The unique testbed resources will support validation through field testing, and evaluation of new and existing communications technologies for electric grid applications. | The SPaRC program’s mandate is to educate the energy sector on new and existing technologies and best practices for improving communications security on the grid. Additionally, SPaRC’s research and testing is centered on preparing and securing the energy sector for the emerging grid of tomorrow. The SPaRC team will regularly publish white papers and technical reports, and hold training and informational sessions with industry, regulatory bodies, and government agencies to address critical interdependencies between the communications and grid operations. |
Key Partners
SPaRC’s initial team consists of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, Idaho National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and the Office of Electricity at DOE. These partners bring both unique communications expertise and communications technology testing capabilities.