As the U.S. continues to rise in the global solar manufacturing rankings, both physical security and cybersecurity measures are becoming top priorities for the American sector of the industry.

Most crucially, U.S. inverter manufactured has nearly tripled since the end of 2024. In response to this rising demand for cybersecurity, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has released a new report, outlining industry priorities with regard to security measures.

With a new inverter manufacturing facility opening for business this summer, the U.S. has fortified its solar production lines nationwide, SEIA says. Association president and CEO Tim Pawlenty stressed the importance of increased security measures as the industry moves into 2027 and beyond.

“As solar and storage continue to lead the way in adding new power capacity to the grid, cybersecurity must remain front and center,” he says. “From secure and resilient systems to expanding domestic manufacturing, this report lays out the actions our industry is taking to strengthen U.S. energy security, protect critical infrastructure, and stay ahead of emerging threats.”

The new report, “Cybersecurity Priorities for America’s Solar & Storage Industry,” says that the trade association is working with partners throughout the industry and the U.S. government to advance cybersecurity protocols for solar.

The company has outlined three key priorities for the solar and storage industry’s security strengthening process, including support of supply chain security, enhancing risk reduction, and strengthening baseline practices.

Consideration of cybersecurity attack history

Attacks on critical infrastructure have risen in recent years, according to SEIA representatives, with even more of an outsized percentage of security risk going to the energy sector. These threats are “critical to national security,” the association adds, and are spiking in frequency as solar and other renewable energy sources continue to blossom on American shores.

“Cyberattacks on the solar and storage industry have not been nearly as frequent or severe as other areas of the energy sector or other critical infrastructure,” SEIA officials say. “However, as solar and storage continue to grow, cybersecurity protections become increasingly important to support grid reliability and resilience. SEIA is supporting the industry to proactively implement strong cybersecurity defenses as their importance on the grid increases.”

The associated cited Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure in 2015, 2016, and 2022, as well as attacks on American power producer sPower in 2019. However, perhaps the most vulnerable and at-risk sectors are utility-scale solar installation thanks to their connection to the wider grid.

Another potential problem area the association outlines is distributed energy generation resources across the U.S., serving commercial, industrial, and residential customers near the physical area of consumption.

“Unlike utility-scale installations, smaller-scale solar and storage systems fall outside of NERC-CIP jurisdiction, leading to inconsistent baseline protections across the ecosystem,” the association says. “Additionally, unlike most utility-scale installations, many distributed systems rely on connections to the internet to connect to the grid and for monitoring and control functions. Internet-connected devices have been and continue to be attractive targets for attackers.”

SEIA says that emerging technologies like AI models have created new cybersecurity risks. If compromised by a cybersecurity attack, AI deployment could potentially cause full grid component failure.

The state of things in the U.S.

SEIA says it will dedicate its efforts to “advancing pragmatic cybersecurity policies,” and creating consequence-drive and established, grounded standards to improve security.

The association says it is actively supporting the solar and storage industry to comply with modern regulations for their sector of the industry. The association already serves as an industry advisory board member for the Department of Energy’s Securing Solar for the Grid program.

“While every part of the energy sector faces cybersecurity challenges, the solar and storage industry increasingly provides reliability services to the grid,” SEIA says. “Proactively addressing cybersecurity challenges in the industry is essential to supporting its continued growth.”

Tags: cybersecurity, policy, security, SEIA, storage, utility-scale