Two-stage electric vehicle charging coordination in low voltage distribution grids

Increased environmental awareness in the recent years has encouraged rapid growth of renewable energy sources (RESs); especially solar PV and wind. One of the effective solutions to compensate intermittencies in generation from the RESs is to enable consumer participation in demand response (DR). Being a sizable rated element, electric vehicles (EVs) can offer a great deal of demand flexibility in future intelligent grids. This paper first investigates and analyzes driving pattern and charging requirements of EVs. Secondly, a two-stage charging algorithm, namely local adaptive control encompassed by a central coordinative control, is proposed to realize the flexibility offered by EV. The local control enables adaptive charging; whereas the central coordinative control prepares optimized charging schedules. Results from various scenarios show that the proposed algorithm enables significant penetration, up to 66%, of EV in a typical low voltage distribution grids and acts as a potential resource to delay or defer grid reinforcement.