Impact assessment of the two-way operation of plugin electric vehicles on distribution networks

The increasing adoption of plug-in electric vehicles (EVs) on the market has raised a concern about the technical impacts this massive connection scenario may bring to the grid. In response to such concern, this paper presents a comprehensive analysis of plug-in EV charging impact on distribution networks. Three aspects of EV connection are addressed. Firstly, residential penetration is considered and its main technical impacts are identified. The second aspect is the use of charging stations; its operation impacts are compared with residential connections and advantages/drawbacks are pointed out. Finally, a smart vehicle-to-grid (V2G) operation mode is introduced. It is shown that, under a time-dependent tariff scenario, such operation mode is highly attractive to the EV owner, as the revenue arisen from power injection may compensate EV charging expenses, approaching a zero fuel expense vehicle. In addition, it is shown that smart V2G operation greatly increases the system load factor.