Power Interchange Analysis for Reliable Vehicle-to-Grid Connectivity

Due to the progressively growing energy demand, electricl vehicles (EVs) are increasingly replacing unfashionable vehicles equipped with internal combustion engines. The new era of modern grid is aiming to unlock the possibility of resource coordination between EVs and power grid. The goal of including vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology is to enable shared access to power resources. To define the initiative, this article investigates the bidirectional power flow between EVs and the main grid. The article provides a new algorithm framework for energy optimization that enables real-time decision making to facilitate charge/discharge processes in grid connected mode. Accordingly, the energy flow optimization, communications for data exchange, and local controller are joined to support system reliability for both power grid and EV owners at parking lot sites. The local controller is the key component that collects the EV data for decision making through real-time communications with EV platforms. The main responsibility of this controller is managing the energy flow during the process of real-time charging without impacting the basic functionalities of both grid and EV systems. Finally, a case study of a modified IEEE 13-node test feeder is proposed to validate the impact of energy flow optimization using V2G technology. This visionary concept provides improvement in grid scalability and reliability to grid operations through accessing EV power storage as a complementary resource of future energy systems.