Impact of Electric Vehicles on the Distribution Network. Analysis under different modes of operation

Abstract

Electric mobility is a sustainable alternative that allows the reduction of energy consumption and the emission of polluting gases with respect to conventional mobility. There are projections that predict an increase in the use of electric vehicles. Thus, several lines of research deal with the characteristics of the integration of these new demands and the effects that will occur on electrical systems. The main goals of this paper are: (i) to determine the impact of a moderate insertion of public charging points on the network; (ii) to evaluate the penetration level of EVs of residential users for slow and semi-fast home charging modes (G2V), according to restrictions of operation variables from the grid; and (iii) to propose some management strategies for controlled recharging and the dual function of charging and supplying energy from the electric vehicles to the grid through their storage batteries (V2G). The obtained results show that the moderate incorporation of public charging points does not significantly affect the operability of the network. Furthermore, it is shown that the controlled recharging of electric vehicles manages to reduce the negative impacts on the electrical system under study, allowing higher levels of insertion and/or delaying investments in the electrical infrastructure. An operation mode with energy from the electric vehicles to the grid would allow displacing the peak generation characterized by its high levels of pollution. Nevertheless, this mode of operation makes the system more susceptible to operating within inadmissible ranges.