Electric vehicles local flexibility strategies for congestion relief on distribution networks

Due to the rising concern for the environment and sustainability issues, the transportation system is experiencing important changes to its paradigm, with the increasing replacement of internal combustion vehicles by electric ones. Consequently, the electric systems need to adapt to the ever-increasing load demand from the grid and the challenge to identify driving patterns in electric vehicle users' behavior. To prepare the grid for these changes, it is necessary to study the behavior of EV users and develop strategies to cope with the growing demand for electric vehicles. Knowing that electric vehicles experience long-parked periods at the charging stations (more than necessary to fully recharge the battery), this research paper proposes an EV charging strategy that intelligently explores these long-parked times. It interrupts charging of EVs that have enough charge to start their trip from certain charging stations to alleviate problems in the network in exchange for a certain incentive. This methodology is then applied in a realistic smart city to investigate its application. The results show that the proposed methodology brings benefits to the distribution network to relieve line congestion and improve the voltage magnitude at the network buses. (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published

Automated summary

As concerns for the environment and sustainability grow, the transportation system is seeing a significant shift with the increasing adoption of electric vehicles over internal combustion ones. To address the growing demand for electric vehicles, understanding user behavior and developing strategies are vital. The proposed EV charging strategy that utilizes long-parked times at charging stations shows promising benefits in relieving network congestion and improving voltage magnitude.