Impact of EV Charging, Charging Speed, and Strategy on the Distribution Grid: A Case Study

This work presents a methodology to assess the electricity demand due to the electrification of the transportation sector and its impact on the grid in a given geographic area. In addition, it presents the results of a case study within a geographic area up to the year 2050 and investigates ways to mitigate power quality issues due to the integration of light-duty passengers into heavy-duty electrical vehicles (EVs) within the electric grid. This study also investigates the impact of electrical vehicle, charging speed, and preferences on the utility and its distribution network by conducting a sensitivity analysis on the driver's charging preferences at work and at home, and how does it affect the load profile of a distribution grid. The voltage impact on the distribution grid nodes and line capacity limits are evaluated. This work will also investigate ways to mitigate power quality issues using renewable energy and distributed generation resources, while at the same time, finding the optimum EV charging speed and strategy to achieve an overall power system-level optimization of the distribution network.