Abstract:

Electric vehicles (EVs) are a rapidly advancing technology that has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation and energy sectors. Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology allows EV batteries to discharge stored energy back to the grid, allowing for the integration of variable distributed renewable generation. Previous research identified financial barriers to the implementation of V2G, however, recent advancements in battery technology present new opportunities to make V2G technology viable. Using the current and predicted EV technology trends, this paper evaluates the annual operation and benefits of EVs and V2G in a microgrid environment and demonstrates different modes of operation. Guided by the gaps identified in the literature, one of the main contributions of this research is to uncover the impact of EV charging scenarios on the V2G operations. Furthermore, the research reveals the interactions between V2G and variable renewable generation coupled with utility-scale battery over yearlong simulations to assess seasonal characteristics of V2G operations, which was mostly unexplored to date. Simulation results indicate that the operation of V2G in an optimised microgrid environment improves the economic operation of the system and reduces the levelized cost of electricity by up to 5.7%. Additionally, V2G provides more benefits to grids with higher solar generation proportions. The results suggest that the latest advancements in EV technology have improved the economic viability of V2G and its potential to improve grid efficiency by providing additional storage capacity and peak demand management.