Date of Award

9-20-2024

Publication Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.Sc.

Department

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Keywords

Distributed Generation;Energy Storage Systems;Fast Charging;GAMS;Renewables

Supervisor

Maher Azzouz

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

With the rise in both popularity and supply of electric vehicles (EVs) in recent years, there is a need for charging infrastructure roughly equivalent to that of petrol infrastructure to meet the growing demand. Moreover, with environmental concerns on the rise it is very important that the integration of EV charging stations and the units for distributive generation (DG) all rely on sources of renewable and non-polluting energy. Due to the lack of existing infrastructure and the surplus of public support for clean and renewable energy, there is a large profit to be made in this industry. The integration of charging infrastructure and renewable DG units comes with its own set of technical and economical challenges, which are thoroughly investigated for the purpose of substantiating the viability of this integration. The objective of this study is to present a strategy to integrate EV fast charging stations (FCS) into an existing distribution grid with a supply of renewable energy-based DG units while maximizing the profit. The viability of introducing FCS to an existing distribution system is explored while considering both economical viability and customer-satisfaction. The sizing and placement of the FCS and DG units into the distribution system is also determined and simulated according to EV driving data and some important geographical criteria. The renewable DG units (i.e. wind and photovoltaic) are allocated in the distribution system to provide clean energy while minimizing power losses. The minimization of power losses is essential to the vitality of the distribution system and economic profits for investors. Renewable DG units can also increase grid stability when the increased penetration of FCS into an existing distribution system causes detrimental effects such as active power imbalance and frequency fluctuation. The methodology presented in this study includes generating a probabilistic generation-load model for the DG units and their randomly behaving renewable energy sources as a deterministic planning problem. The objective for this part of the study is to minimize annual energy losses by the renewable DG units, thereby increasing total profit. The high penetration of renewable DG units into the existing distribution system, however, will have adverse effects on the maximum reverse power flow limit, the equipment rating limit, and the voltage limit on each bus. To mitigate these problems, Energy Storage Systems (ESS) can be installed on-site with the FCS. They act as a power buffer during high-traffic periods of the day when a large strain is placed on the distribution system by FCS, and during low-traffic periods of the day they can store the excess energy generated by the DG units. The practical and economic viability of installing these units alongside the FCS and DG units in the distribution system is explored. The methodology presented for the location and size of the FCS involves modelling the geographical constraints, candidate locations, EV owner driving data, and customer service constraints as a mixed integer non-linear programming (MINLP) problem to find the optimal configuration of charging stations for both investors and EV owners.

Download

Share

COinS