The Critical Role of Public Charging Infrastructure

Editors: Peter Fox-Penner, PhD, Z. Justin Ren, PhD, David O. JermainA decade after the launch of the contemporary global electric vehicle (EV) market, most cities face a major challenge preparing for rising EV demand. Some cities, and the leaders who shape them, are meeting and even leading demand for EV infrastructure. This book aggregates deep, groundbreaking research in the areas of urban EV deployment for city managers, private developers, urban planners, and utilities who want to understand and lead change

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

Utilizing Highway Rest Areas for Electric Vehicle Charging: Economics and Impacts on Renewable Energy Penetration in California

California policy is incentivizing rapid adoption of zero emission electric vehicles for light-duty and freight applications. This project explored how locating charging facilities at California’s highway rest stops might impact electricity demand, grid operation, and integration of renewables like solar and wind into California’s energy mix. Assuming a growing population of electric vehicles to meet state goals, state-wide growth of electricity demand was estimated, and the most attractive rest stop locations for siting chargers identified. Using a California-specific electricity dispatch model developed at UC Davis, the project estimated how charging vehicles at these stations would impact renewable energy curtailment in California. It estimated the impacts of charging infrastructures on California’s electricity system and how they can be utilized to decrease the duck curve effect resulting from a large amount of solar energy penetration by 2050.View the NCST Project Webpag