Strategies for Plug-in Electric Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) and photovoltaics (PV) for peak demand reduction in urban regions in a smart grid environment

Abstract

The strategy of using Plug-in Electric Vehicles (PEVs) for vehicle-togrid (V2G) energy transfer in a smart grid environment can offer grid support to distribution utilities, and opens a new revenue opportunity for PEV owners. V2G has the potential of reducing grid operation costs in demand-constrained urban feeders where peak-electricity prices are high. Photovoltaic (PV) solar energy conversion can also assist urban distribution grids in shaving energy demand peaks when and where there is a good match between the solar irradiation resource availability and electricity demands. This is particularly relevant in urban areas, where air-conditioning is the predominant load, and on-site generation a welcome resource. Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) plus short-term storage can offer additional grid support in the early evening, when solar irradiation is no longer available, but loads peak. When PEVs become a widespread technology, they will represent new electrical energy demands for generation, transmission and distribution (GT&D) utilities. PEVs that are parked in the early evening can play the role of short-term energy storage devices for PV electricity generated earlier in the day. In a smart-grid environment, the combination of PEVs and PV can offer a good solution to assist the public grid. In this chapter, results on analyses of these strategies applied to selected urban feeders in the metropolitan area of a capital city in Brazil are presented. It is shown that, in a smart-grid environment, it should be possible to accommodate PEVs, BIPVs, V2G and the recharging of PEVs (grid-to-vehicle-G2V), and at the same time assist the urban grids and supply the new energy demands represented by the introduction of a PEV fleet, without compromising the existing grid infrastructure.