Optimal Charging of Electric Vehicles in Smart Grid: Characterization and Valley-Filling Algorithms

Electric vehicles (EVs) offer an attractive long-term solution to reduce the dependence on fossil fuel and greenhouse gas emission. However, a fleet of EVs with different EV battery charging rate constraints, that is distributed across a smart power grid network requires a coordinated charging schedule to minimize the power generation and EV charging costs. In this paper, we study a joint optimal power flow (OPF) and EV charging problem that augments the OPF problem with charging EVs over time. While the OPF problem is generally nonconvex and nonsmooth, it is shown recently that the OPF problem can be solved optimally for most practical power networks using its convex dual problem. Building on this zero duality gap result, we study a nested optimization approach to decompose the joint OPF and EV charging problem. We characterize the optimal offline EV charging schedule to be a valley-filling profile, which allows us to develop an optimal offline algorithm with computational complexity that is significantly lower than centralized interior point solvers. Furthermore, we propose a decentralized online algorithm that dynamically tracks the valley-filling profile. Our algorithms are evaluated on the IEEE 14 bus system, and the simulations show that the online algorithm performs almost near optimality ($<1$ relative difference from the offline optimal solution) under different settings.Comment: This paper is temporarily withdrawn in preparation for journal submissio

Mixed hybrid and electric bus dynamic fleet management in urban networks: a model predictive control approach

Reducing pollutant emissions and promoting sustainable mobility solutions, including Public Transport, are increasingly becoming key objectives for policymakers worldwide. In order to jointly achieve these goals, careful consideration should be put on the operational cost and management of PT services, in order to promote the adoption of green mobility solutions and advanced management techniques by operators. In this work we develop a dynamic fleet management approach for next generation Public Transportation systems, considering the instance of mixed electric / hybrid fleet. Our objective is that of investigating to what extent electrification, coupled with optimal fleet management, can yield operational cost savings for PT operators, explicitly considering real-time disturbances, including delays, service disruptions etc. We propose a Mixed Integer Linear Program to address the problem of optimal scheduling of a mixed fleet of electric and hybrid / non-electric buses, and employ it as predictor in a Model Predictive Control approach. Test results based upon a real-life scenario showcase how the proposed approach is indeed capable of yielding a sizable reduction in operational costs, even when considerable disturbances arise from the underlying system

Grid flexibility by electrifying energy systems for sustainable aviation

This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University LondonDecarbonisation of aviation goals set by Flightpath 2050 Europe’s Vision for Aviation requires that the airports become emission-free by 2050. This thesis original contribution to knowledge is to explore the incorporation of aviation electrification technologies, including electric aircraft (EA), electrified ground support equipment (GSE), and airport parking electric vehicles (EVs), into power systems, evaluating their influence on grid infrastructure and operations, as well as their potential to support the grid operation. A comprehensive review of aviation electrification technologies revealed a research gap in the integration of these technologies into the power systems. The thesis contributes to electricity network infrastructure planning for electrification of aviation and airport-based distributed energy resources (DER) that provide ancillary services to the power grid. A multi-objective airport microgrid planning framework is developed, comparing EA charging strategies and revealing that battery swap performs better. Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) strategy with parking EVs improves the microgrid's performance. A techno-economic assessment of wireless charging systems for electric airport shuttle buses shows better economic performance than conventional buses and other charging options. A novel Aviation-to-Grid (A2G) flexibility concept provides frequency response services to the GB power system using EA battery charging systems, with typical A2G service capacity showing significant variation across eight UK airports. A deep reinforcement learning (DRL)-based A2G dispatch approach evaluates the impact of EA charger capacity on energy dispatch results, with higher capacities leading to higher revenue and lower operation costs. To summarise, this thesis addresses the research gaps in integrating aviation electrification technologies into power systems, offering valuable insights for airport operators aiming to decarbonise air transport activities through the adoption of these technologies. The study also provides an understanding of the impacts on grid operators in terms of infrastructure planning and operations. This comprehensive approach ensures a cohesive understanding of the challenges and opportunities presented by aviation electrification and its integration into power systems

Planning of Regional Urban Bus Charging Facility:A Case Study of Fengxian, Shanghai

The electrification of public transport is of great significance to alleviating environmental pollution and energy problems. The construction of charging stations for electric buses (EBs) is the key step for the electrification of public transport and receives more and more attention. This paper proposes a new urban electric bus charging station planning algorithm which consists of two parts, park-maintaining (PM) charging station planning and midway supply (MS) charging station planning. Firstly, bus routes are classified based on charging demands. Accordingly, the PM charging station planning model is divided into full slow charging (FSC) model, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) model and Hybrid model. Secondly, the improved grid AP algorithm is applied to plan MS charging stations to enhance the EB operation reliability. Then by multi-terminal charging pile optimization model, the economics of charging facilities construction is enhanced. Finally, via an ordered control charging algorithm, the economic profits of overall planning schemes are enhanced. The bus system in Fengxian, Shanghai is taken as an example to demonstrate the proposed method. Results prove that the proposed method can effectively meet the charging demands of EBs and improve the operating reliability of the EB system. </p

Optimization of electric bus scheduling considering stochastic volatilities in trip travel time and energy consumption

This paper develops a vehicle scheduling method for the electric bus (EB) route considering stochastic volatilities in trip travel time and energy consumption. First, a model for estimating the trip energy consumption is proposed based on field-collected data, and the probability distribution function of trip energy consumption considering the stochastic volatility is determined. Second, we propose the charging strategy to recharge buses during their idle times. The impacts of stochastic volatilities on the departure time, the idle time, the battery state of charge, and the energy consumption of each trip are analyzed. Third, an optimization model is built with the objectives of minimizing the expectation of delays in trip departure times, the summation of energy consumption expectations, and bus procurement costs. Finally, a real bus route is taken as an example to validate the proposed method. Results show that reasonable idle times can be generated by optimizing the scheduling plan, and it is helpful to stop the accumulation of stochastic volatilities. Collaboratively optimizing vehicle scheduling and charging plans can reduce the EB fleet and delay times while meeting the route operation needs

Bus timetable optimization model in response to the diverse and uncertain requirements of passengers for travel comfort

Most existing public transit systems have a fixed dispatching and service mode, which cannot effectively allocate resources from the perspective of the interests of all participants, resulting in resource waste and dissatisfaction. Low passenger satisfaction leads to a considerable loss of bus passengers and further reduces the income of bus operators. This study develops an optimization model for bus schedules that considers vehicle types and offers two service levels based on heterogeneous passenger demands. In this process, passenger satisfaction, bus company income, and government subsidies are considered. A bilevel model is proposed with a lower-level passenger ride simulation model and an upper-level multiobjective optimization model to maximize the interests of bus companies, passengers, and the government. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed methodology, a real-world case from Guangzhou is presented and analyzed using the nondominated sorting genetic algorithm-II (NSGA-II), and the related Pareto front is obtained. The results show that the proposed bus operation system can effectively increase the benefits for bus companies, passengers, and the governmen

Integrated energy management of plug-in electric vehicles in power grid with renewables

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