Electric-Vehicle Charging Station Optimization in Power-Traffic Coupled Networks: Problem Formulations and A Three-Stage Iterative Algorithm

With the emerging proliferation of electric vehicles (EVs) in traffic, the optimal deployment of EV charging stations has become a critical issue due to the foreseeable significant impact on conventional power distribution systems and traffic networks. With the complex coupling between time-varying traffic flow demand and power demand during a day, it is challenging to intelligently compromise the infrastructure cost and service quality to ensure cost-effective investment as well as customers’ comfort. To deal with this particular challenge, in this study, an iterative algorithm comprising three stages with comprehensive formulations is presented to optimize the locations and sizing of charging stations, considering the EVs’ behavior and customers’ perspective in the composite transportation and power network. To verify the proposed algorithm, a case study based on a 25-node transportation network integrated with IEEE 33-bus system is done. Numerical results show that our algorithm can efficiently solve the problem in power-traffic coupled networks while accounting for time-varying flow demand and power demand.