With more and more electric vehicles connecting to the power grid every day, there are concerns that existing grid infrastructure will be strained beyond acceptable operational limits. We can address these concerns by bringing operations, pricing, and forecasting into techno-economic models of power systems. Using these models, we can assess feasibility, risk, optimal operations, and profitability of charging infrastructure. These models provide key insights such as expected system performance over time, identification of factors that lead to bad outcomes, and right-sizing of components through optimization studies.
In this talk, we consider a scenario where a system operator can command individual electric vehicle battery units to both store and supply electricity while connected to the grid. The operator applies techno-economic optimization to the charging profiles to minimize electricity cost while accounting for system requirements and constraints, such as limits on state of charge, grid supply, and charge/discharge rate. The optimization provides a fast and automated approach for leveraging all of the units connected to the grid for overall system benefit. Charging profiles are then assessed for the impact on voltage and power flow levels using a grid-level simulation.
