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Present trends indicate that electrical vehicles (EVs) are favourable technology for road network transportation. The lack of easily accessible charging stations will be a negative growth driver for EV adoption. Consequently, the charging station placement and scheduling of charging activity have gained momentum among researchers all over the world. Different planning and scheduling models have been proposed in the literature. Each model is unique and has both advantages and disadvantages. Moreover, the performance of the models also varies and is location specific. A model suitable for a developing country may not be appropriate for a developed country and vice versa. This paper provides a classification and overview of charging station placement and charging activity scheduling as well as the global scenario of charging infrastructure planning. Further, this work provides the challenges and solutions to the EV charging infrastructure demand and deployment. The recommendations and future scope of EV charging infrastructure are also highlighted in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatial-temporal distribution of electric vehicle (EV) charging loads can be improved by implementing optimized charging scheduling, and by the joint planning of a distribution network (DN) and a charging network of EVs. In this paper, such a joint planning scheme was studied and modeled as two-level optimization model. In the upper level of the optimization, a joint planning model of a DN and a charging network of EVs with distributed photovoltaic (PV) systems and/or energy storage (ES) units is constructed to minimize the total cost. Then the optimized results of the DN and the EV charging network construction plan are used as the inputs of the lower-level operation model. In the lower-level operation optimization, an optimal charging scheduling approach is proposed to minimize the sum of the DN's operation cost and the traffic congestion cost. The spatial-temporal distribution of the charging demand, under an optimized charging strategy, is used as feedback for the upper-level optimization model, which effectively can reduce the scale of the DN and the charging network construction. The proposed joint planning model was demonstrated through applications in a city in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy stored in the batteries of electric vehicles (EVs) could be employed for starting generators when a blackout or a local outage occurs. Considering the feature of the battery swapping mode, an available capacity model of the batteries in a centralised charging station is first developed. Then, the authors analyse the start‐up characteristics of a generator powered by batteries and propose a bi‐level optimisation‐based network reconfiguration model to determine the restoration paths with an objective of maximising the overall generation capability. In the upper‐level optimisation model, the generator start‐up sequence is optimised, whereas the restoration paths are optimised in the lower‐level one. Moreover, they consider the uncertainties associated with the available capacity of the batteries. The bi‐level optimisation model for the network reconfiguration is developed in the chance‐constrained programming framework and solved by the well‐established particle swarm optimisation algorithm. Finally, case studies are employed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the presented model. Simulation results show that a centralised EV charging station could act as a power source to effectively restore a power system without black‐start (BS) generators or with insufficient cranking power from BS generators, and the presented model could be used to guide actual system restorations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Widespread utilization of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) would incur more uncertainties, and thus challenge the traditional planning strategies for distribution systems. In this paper, a scenario-based comprehensive expansion planning (SCEP) approach for distribution systems is presented to cope with future uncertainties. This approach can not only take into account the initial investment and operation costs but also consider the expected adaptation cost to other future scenarios, and in this way the flexibility of an initial planning scheme can be achieved. Future scenarios are identified in line with three uncertainties, namely the conventional load levels, penetration levels of PEVs and whether or not with successful implementation of a coordinated charging strategy. The charging profile for dump charging mode has been determined straightforwardly, while that for coordinated charging mode is obtained by solving the proposed day-ahead dispatching model (DDM). Furthermore, a priority-based real time dispatching strategy (PRTDS) is proposed to obtain direct charging instructions for PEVs, and thus to demonstrate the rationality of utilizing the charging profile acquired from DDM in distribution system expansion planning (DSEP). Finally, the performance of the proposed methodology is demonstrated by numerical studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An elaborately designed integrated power distribution and electric vehicle (EV) charging system will not only reduce the investment and operation cost of the system concerned, but also promote the popularization of environmentally friendly EVs. In this context, a multi-objective collaborative planning strategy is presented to deal with the optimal planning issue in integrated power distribution and EV charging systems. In the developed model, the overall annual cost of investment and energy losses is minimized simultaneously with the maximization of the annual traffic flow captured by fast charging stations (FCSs). Additionally, the user equilibrium based traffic assignment model (UETAM) is integrated to address the maximal traffic flow capturing problem. Subsequently, a decomposition based multi-objective evolutionary algorithm (MOEA/D) is employed to seek the non-dominated solutions, i.e., the Pareto frontier. Finally, collaborative planning results of two coupled distribution and transportation systems are presented to illustrate the performance of the proposed model and solution method. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

With the progressive exhaustion of fossil energy and the enhanced awareness of environmental protection, more attention is being paid to electric vehicles (EVs). Inappropriate siting and sizing of EV charging stations could have negative effects on the development of EVs, the layout of the city traffic network, and the convenience of EVs' drivers, and lead to an increase in network losses and a degradation in voltage profiles at some nodes. Given this background, the optimal sites of EV charging stations are first identified by a two-step screening method with environmental factors and service radius of EV charging stations considered. Then, a mathematical model for the optimal sizing of EV charging stations is developed with the minimization of total cost associated with EV charging stations to be planned as the objective function and solved by a modified primal-dual interior point algorithm (MPDIPA). Finally, simulation results of the IEEE 123-node test feeder have demonstrated that the developed model and method cannot only attain the reasonable planning scheme of EV charging stations, but also reduce the network loss and improve the voltage profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some uncertainties, such as the uncertain output power of a plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) due to its stochastic charging and discharging schedule, that of a wind generation unit due to the stochastic wind speed, and that of a solar generating source due to the stochastic illumination intensity, volatile fuel prices, and future uncertain load growth could lead to some risks in determining the optimal siting and sizing of distributed generators (DGs) in distribution system planning. Given this background, under the chance constrained programming (CCP) framework, a new method is presented to handle these uncertainties in the optimal siting and sizing of DGs. First, a mathematical model of CCP is developed with the minimization of the DGs' investment cost, operating cost, maintenance cost, network loss cost, as well as the capacity adequacy cost as the objective, security limitations as constraints, and the siting and sizing of DGs as optimization variables. Then, a Monte Carlo simulation-embedded genetic-algorithm-based approach is employed to solve the developed CCP model. Finally, the IEEE 37-node test feeder is used to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the developed model and method, and the test results have demonstrated that the voltage profile and power-supply reliability for customers can be significantly improved and the network loss substantially reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the ever-increasing charging demand of electric vehicles (EVs) imposes challenges on both power supply security and reliability in the distribution system. In this paper, an EV accommodation capability evaluation model of a distribution system, with high penetrations of flexible resources, is established. Firstly, according to the actual classifications of EVs and transportation rules, a Monte Carlo simulation is used to simulate the charging behaviors of EVs so as to obtain the relevant parameters of EV charging. Then, a coordinated charging optimization model for various types of EVs is proposed based on the charging characteristics of EVs. The presented model comprises a mixed-integer linear programming problem and a constrained optimization problem which are respectively solved by CPLEX (the Simplex method implemented in the °C programming language) and the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. Last of all, a real-life distribution system in the coastal areas of China is served for demonstrating the feasibility and efficiency of the proposed approach. Moreover, the impacts of flexible resources, distribution network zoning rules, and EV growth on the EV accommodation capability of a distribution system are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ever-increasing penetration of wind power generation and plug-in electric vehicles introduces stochastic continuous disturbances to the power system. This paper proposes an analytical approach to analyze the influence of stochastic continuous disturbances on power system small signal stability. The noise-to-state stability (NSS) and NSS Lyapunov function (NSS-LF) are adopted for stability analysis with respect to the magnitude of uncertainties in a power system. The power system is modeled as a set of stochastic differential equations (SDEs). The supremum of the norm of the covariance is employed to characterize the influence of magnitudes of uncertainties on the power system. Then the relationship between the magnitudes of stochastic variations and probabilistic stability is explicitly identified by NSS. The proposed method can assess the stochastic stability of the power system by checking some algebraic expressions. Hence, it has high computation efficiency compared with the well-established Monte Carlo based method. Besides, since the magnitudes of the stochastic variations are integrated into the definition of the stochastic stability, the proposed method provides theoretical explanations for the impacts of uncertainties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the ever-increasing penetration of electric vehicles (EVs), extreme fast charging stations (XFCSs) are being widely deployed, wherein battery energy storages (BESs) are also installed for reducing the peak charging power. However, integrating the XFCS with a high-capacity power converter into the power distribution network (PDN) is difficult and uneconomical due to the restrictions regarding urban planning and high investment in PDN expansion. Considering the fluctuation in the EV charging demand and the limited capacity of the power converter, a collaborative policy for real-time EV charging power allocation and BES discharging power control is proposed based on Markov Decision Process (MDP), which is solved by the constraint deep deterministic policy gradient (CDDPG). The proposed model makes it possible to integrate the XFCS with reduced capacity power converter into the PDN with a minimal negative impact on the quality of service (QoS) of EV owners. Finally, the experimental evaluation with real-word data sets demonstrates that the proposed approach is more effective than benchmark methods in dynamically allocating charging power for XFCS. • The charging process and satisfaction for extreme fast charging are analyzed. • An MDP-based power allocation policy is proposed to enhance charging satisfaction. • A constraint DDPG algorithm is proposed to avoid excessive extra service time. • A cooperation policy for XFCS and battery energy storages is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Distribution Locational Marginal Pricing for Optimal Electric Vehicle Charging Management" by R. Li, Q. Wu and S. S. Oren in the January 2014 issue.