Performance assessment and impact of electric vehicles penetration in active distribution grids

Abstract

Because of the ongoing discussion about global warming, many nations have developed several approaches to address this problem. Some strategies are: renewable energy integration, agricultural robotic solutions, and electric vehicle penetration. The last strategy, the electric vehicle (EV), has gained considerable attention due to the paradigm shift in the transport sector driven by internal combustion engines and EV penetration can also achieve efficient operation of power grids. However, there are numerous challenges associated with the penetration of these technologies within active distribution networks. It is necessary to analyze the increased amount of electricity consumption in these grids, the degradation in the voltage profile in these networks and the hosting capacity assessment of electric vehicle integration in these grids. This paper analyzes the influence of EV penetration on a 34-bus active distribution system through five EV stations and proposes two alternatives for improving the introduction of these technological elements. Specifically, it analyzes the voltage levels at the system nodes and proposes an intelligent management of resources through capacitor banks and transformer taps. From the results, the effects on the network were voltage drop on some bus bars and an increase or decrease of the loading on lines depending on the EV penetration. It is also evident that 9% of the bus bars were not working under acceptable voltage ranges in the worst-case scenario.

Keywords

• electric vehicle
• line loading
• EV charging methods
• load modeling
• load flow calculation