Enhancing Microgrid Operation Through Electric Vehicle Integration: A Survey

The integration of renewable energy sources (RES) and electric vehicles (EVs) into microgrids (MGs) has significant potential for enhancing energy resilience, addressing environmental concerns, and promoting decentralized energy systems as a global shift towards sustainable energy solutions. Therefore, this survey paper provides a comprehensive discussion on improving MG operation through EV integration. This study evaluates the status of EV integration into MGs, focusing on technological advancements, and emerging trends, while pinpointing key technical challenges and opportunities. Furthermore, this paper examines the pivotal role of EVs in participating in vehicle-to-grid (V2G) services, providing ancillary support to improve MG performance. The importance of a reliable communication infrastructure for information exchange between EVs, EV charging stations (EVCSs), and MGs has been emphasized for the effective implementation of V2G services. This discussion extends to the contributions of EVs to primary, secondary, and tertiary MG controls. The paper also analyzes the integration of EVs into AC and DC MGs and further proposes configurations for both MG cases. Finally, the paper concludes by providing recommendations for future research to unlock the full potential of EV contributions to MG performance, thereby contributing to the ongoing advancement of sustainable and resilient energy systems. The key findings of this work include solutions for MG voltage and frequency regulation implemented through EV bidirectional converter power flow control, EV charger configurations for integration into AC and DC MGs, EV contributions in improving the MG’s operational resilience and adaptability, and the noteworthy challenges arising from V2G implementation in such systems.