5,292 research outputs found
Unsplittable Load Balancing in a Network of Charging Stations Under QoS Guarantees
The operation of the power grid is becoming more stressed, due to the
addition of new large loads represented by Electric Vehicles (EVs) and a more
intermittent supply due to the incorporation of renewable sources. As a
consequence, the coordination and control of projected EV demand in a network
of fast charging stations becomes a critical and challenging problem.
In this paper, we introduce a game theoretic based decentralized control
mechanism to alleviate negative impacts from the EV demand. The proposed
mechanism takes into consideration the non-uniform spatial distribution of EVs
that induces uneven power demand at each charging facility, and aims to: (i)
avoid straining grid resources by offering price incentives so that customers
accept being routed to less busy stations, (ii) maximize total revenue by
serving more customers with the same amount of grid resources, and (iii)
provide charging service to customers with a certain level of
Quality-of-Service (QoS), the latter defined as the long term customer blocking
probability. We examine three scenarios of increased complexity that gradually
approximate real world settings. The obtained results show that the proposed
framework leads to substantial performance improvements in terms of the
aforementioned goals, when compared to current state of affairs.Comment: Accepted for Publication in IEEE Transactions on Smart Gri
Electric Power Allocation in a Network of Fast Charging Stations
In order to increase the penetration of electric vehicles, a network of fast
charging stations that can provide drivers with a certain level of quality of
service (QoS) is needed. However, given the strain that such a network can
exert on the power grid, and the mobility of loads represented by electric
vehicles, operating it efficiently is a challenging problem. In this paper, we
examine a network of charging stations equipped with an energy storage device
and propose a scheme that allocates power to them from the grid, as well as
routes customers. We examine three scenarios, gradually increasing their
complexity. In the first one, all stations have identical charging capabilities
and energy storage devices, draw constant power from the grid and no routing
decisions of customers are considered. It represents the current state of
affairs and serves as a baseline for evaluating the performance of the proposed
scheme. In the second scenario, power to the stations is allocated in an
optimal manner from the grid and in addition a certain percentage of customers
can be routed to nearby stations. In the final scenario, optimal allocation of
both power from the grid and customers to stations is considered. The three
scenarios are evaluated using real traffic traces corresponding to weekday rush
hour from a large metropolitan area in the US. The results indicate that the
proposed scheme offers substantial improvements of performance compared to the
current mode of operation; namely, more customers can be served with the same
amount of power, thus enabling the station operators to increase their
profitability. Further, the scheme provides guarantees to customers in terms of
the probability of being blocked by the closest charging station. Overall, the
paper addresses key issues related to the efficient operation of a network of
charging stations.Comment: Published in IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications July
201
Decentralized Greedy-Based Algorithm for Smart Energy Management in Plug-in Electric Vehicle Energy Distribution Systems
Variations in electricity tariffs arising due to stochastic demand loads on the power grids have stimulated research in finding optimal charging/discharging scheduling solutions for electric vehicles (EVs). Most of the current EV scheduling solutions are either centralized, which suffer from low reliability and high complexity, while existing decentralized solutions do not facilitate the efficient scheduling of on-move EVs in large-scale networks considering a smart energy distribution system. Motivated by smart cities applications, we consider in this paper the optimal scheduling of EVs in a geographically large-scale smart energy distribution system where EVs have the flexibility of charging/discharging at spatially-deployed smart charging stations (CSs) operated by individual aggregators. In such a scenario, we define the social welfare maximization problem as the total profit of both supply and demand sides in the form of a mixed integer non-linear programming (MINLP) model. Due to the intractability, we then propose an online decentralized algorithm with low complexity which utilizes effective heuristics to forward each EV to the most profitable CS in a smart manner. Results of simulations on the IEEE 37 bus distribution network verify that the proposed algorithm improves the social welfare by about 30% on average with respect to an alternative scheduling strategy under the equal participation of EVs in charging and discharging operations. Considering the best-case performance where only EV profit maximization is concerned, our solution also achieves upto 20% improvement in flatting the final electricity load. Furthermore, the results reveal the existence of an optimal number of CSs and an optimal vehicle-to-grid penetration threshold for which the overall profit can be maximized. Our findings serve as guidelines for V2G system designers in smart city scenarios to plan a cost-effective strategy for large-scale EVs distributed energy management
EV charging stations and RES-based DG: A centralized approach for smart integration in active distribution grids
Renewable Energy Sources based (RES-based) Dispersed Generation (DG) and Electrical Vehicles (EVs) charging systems diffusion is in progress in many Countries around the word. They have huge effects on the distribution grids planning and operation, particularly on MV and LV distribution grids. Many studies on their impact on the power systems are ongoing, proposing different approaches of managing. The present work deals with a real application case of integration of EVs charging stations with ES-based DG. The final task of the integration is to be able to assure the maximum utilization of the distribution grid to which both are connected, without any upgrading action, and in accordance with Distribution System Operators (DSOs) needs. The application of the proposed approach is related to an existent distribution system, owned by edistribuzione, the leading DSO in Italy. Diverse types of EVs supplying stations, with diverse diffusion scenarios, have been assumed for the case study; various Optimal Power Flow (OPF) models, based on diverse objective functions, reflecting DSO necessities, have been applied and tried. The obtained results demonstrate that a centralized management approach by the DSO, could assure the respect of operation limits of the system in the actual asset, delaying or avoiding upgrading engagements and charges
A Stochastic Resource-Sharing Network for Electric Vehicle Charging
We consider a distribution grid used to charge electric vehicles such that
voltage drops stay bounded. We model this as a class of resource-sharing
networks, known as bandwidth-sharing networks in the communication network
literature. We focus on resource-sharing networks that are driven by a class of
greedy control rules that can be implemented in a decentralized fashion. For a
large number of such control rules, we can characterize the performance of the
system by a fluid approximation. This leads to a set of dynamic equations that
take into account the stochastic behavior of EVs. We show that the invariant
point of these equations is unique and can be computed by solving a specific
ACOPF problem, which admits an exact convex relaxation. We illustrate our
findings with a case study using the SCE 47-bus network and several special
cases that allow for explicit computations.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figure
Forecasting Recharging Demand to Integrate Electric Vehicle Fleets in Smart Grids
Electric vehicle fleets and smart grids are two growing technologies. These technologies
provided new possibilities to reduce pollution and increase energy efficiency.
In this sense, electric vehicles are used as mobile loads in the power grid. A distributed
charging prioritization methodology is proposed in this paper. The solution is based
on the concept of virtual power plants and the usage of evolutionary computation
algorithms. Additionally, the comparison of several evolutionary algorithms, genetic
algorithm, genetic algorithm with evolution control, particle swarm optimization, and
hybrid solution are shown in order to evaluate the proposed architecture. The proposed
solution is presented to prevent the overload of the power grid
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