Microgrid integrated electric vehicle charging algorithm with photovoltaic generation

Over the past decade, electric vehicle (EV) usage has dramatically increased. For many applications, employing vehicle-to-grid (V2G) and grid-to-vehicle (G2V) schemes can make use of EVs as temporary energy storage systems (ESS). Renewable energy resources can reduce the amount of energy consumed from the electrical grid. However, the electrical power generated from these resources fluctuates and is unpredictable. ESS can play a vital role in mitigating these negative effects, but the technology is still very expensive. Therefore, this study investigates the feasibility of using EVs as a temporary ESS according to system needs. A charging/discharging algorithm is suggested to find the number of EVs that minimizes the overall consumption of electrical energy drawn from the grid. A case study for the Microgrid (MG) system at Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) is used to illustrate the proposed algorithm. Results show energy saving of the suggested algorithm by comparing the amount of grid energy consumption before and after the installation of EV charging stations. In this case study, installation of charging stations at JUST reduces energy drawn from the grid, during working hours, by 90%. This reflects an increase in the percent of generated energy locally utilized, in essence reducing the energy injected into the grid for later usage, reducing grid storage fees.