Project Grant ED25HDQ0G0002

PURPOSE: GRID ENABLED CYBER OPERATIONS RANGE (GECO) WILL CREATE A GRID CYBER TEST RANGE ON SAVANNAH RIVER NATIONAL LAB?S EXISTING MEDIUM VOLTAGE TESTBED FACILITY, INFORMED BY THE PRIVATE SECTOR. THIS PROJECT CONVENES A COMBINATION OF STAKEHOLDERS: A NATIONAL LAB, UTILITIES, PRIVATE SECTOR PARTNERS, AND NATIONAL CYBER DEFENSE AUTHORITIES. ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED: 1. ACQUIRE THREE MODULAR AND MOBILE OPERATIONS TESTING CENTERS THAT WILL UTILIZE A PRIMARY TEST NETWORK AND A SAFETY OVERSIGHT NETWORK. THESE NETWORKS WILL INCLUDE CRITICAL ENERGY GENERATION AND STORAGE TECHNOLOGIES SUCH AS PHOTOVOLTAICS, BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE, VIRTUALIZED LOADS, AND COMMAND AND CONTROL ALGORITHMS. 2. CONDUCT CYBER EXERCISES IN THE THREE OPERATIONS TESTING CENTERS, FOCUSING ON PENETRATION TESTING AND ATTACKS; SUPERVISORY OBSERVATION, SAFETY OVERSIGHT TOOLS AND PROTOCOL; AND VULNERABILITY MITIGATION AND DEFENSIVE CYBER OPERATIONS TRAINING. 3. PROVIDE GRID-SPECIFIC RISK ASSESSMENTS OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN FOR COMPONENTS DOWN TO POINT OF ORIGIN, ENSURING FOREIGN ADVERSARIES ARE NOT UNDULY INFLUENCING U.S. GRID EQUIPMENT. TRAIN GRID CYBER OPERATORS AND/OR STUDENTS IN COLLABORATION WITH UTILITIES, EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, AND DEFENSE LEADERS. PROVIDE SUPPLY CHAIN RISK MANAGEMENT TRAINING TO PRIVATE SECTOR GRID OPERATORS AND EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS. EXPECTED OUTCOMES: GECO?S WORKFORCE EFFORT WILL ADDRESS THE REGION?S SHORTAGE IN CYBER PROFESSIONALS BY PROVIDING TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES TO 120 CYBER DEFENDERS BY OCTOBER 2026. GECO WILL SPUR ECONOMIC GROWTH BY PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENTERPRISES AND LOCAL SUPPLY CHAINS TO PROVIDE THE REQUIRED MATERIALS AND SERVICES FOR THE EMERGING DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCES ECONOMY. GECO WILL HELP COMMERCIALIZE PREVIOUSLY OVERLOOKED TECHNOLOGIES THAT ARE RIPE FOR MARKET DISRUPTION BY LINKING PRIVATE SECTOR PLAYERS WITH DEFENSE AND PUBLIC SECTOR EXPERTISE. GECO WILL MAKE SC NEXUS MORE ATTRACTIVE FOR LARGE-SCALE INVESTMENT IN ENERGY, CYBER, AND DEFENSE INDUSTRIES. OVER TIME, THE PROPOSED PROGRAMMING WILL GENERATE 1,200 DIRECT JOBS AND $1.7B IN TOTAL OUTPUT OVER THE LIFE OF THE INVESTMENT.