Kellie Macpherson on NERC Compliance, Cybersecurity, and Grid Reliability

Renewable energy has scaled rapidly. Now the industry faces a more demanding question: can solar, wind, and storage operate with the discipline, security, and reliability expected of critical infrastructure?In this episode of Green Giants: Titans of Renewable Energy, Wes Ashworth, President of Lee Group Search, speaks with Kellie Macpherson, COO of Compliance + Security at Radian Generation and a board member at SEIA (Solar Energy Industries Association).Kellie brings deep experience across NERC compliance, cybersecurity, commissioning, audits, control centers, and renewable asset operations. Her perspective is shaped by a career spent bridging the gap between traditional grid operations and the fast-moving renewable energy sector.The conversation explores why compliance is not simply paperwork, how reliability affects real communities, and why the industry’s long-term credibility depends on operating assets as well as it builds them.Wes and Kellie also break down the significance of NERC Category 2 registration for inverter-based resources. They discuss which solar, wind, storage, and hybrid assets may now fall under increased oversight, why registration alone is not the same as being audit-ready, and what owner-operators should prioritize if they are behind.Cybersecurity is another central theme. Modern renewable plants rely heavily on remote access, third-party vendors, software, connected devices, and operational technology. That creates efficiency, but also expands the attack surface. Kellie explains why commissioning is one of the most vulnerable stages of a project and why access management, patching, physical security, and documented controls need to be built in before commercial operation.The episode also examines the leadership side of compliance. Mature programs require executive attention, clear accountability, employee training, operational evidence, and a company culture that understands the financial, reputational, and reliability risks of getting it wrong.In this episode:Why grid reliability became personal for Kellie early in lifeHow renewable energy became central to bulk power system reliabilityWhat NERC Category 2 means for solar, wind, storage, and hybrid assetsThe difference between registration and true audit readinessWhy cybersecurity should be treated as an operational priority nowThe most common security risks during commissioningWarning signs that a project may face future compliance problemsWhy inverter settings, access controls, patching, and evidence matterHow executives and boards should think about compliance riskWhat trusted renewable operators will do differently over the next three yearsAs electricity demand grows and renewable assets become more essential to the grid, the companies that earn long-term trust will be the ones that combine speed with discipline, growth with resilience, and innovation with operational accountability.Links: Kellie Macpherson on LinkedInRadian Generation's WebsiteKellie's Power Play NewsletterWes Ashworth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/weslgs/Email: [email protected]://leegroupsearch.com/green-giants-podcast/https://leegroupsearch.com/