Capacity expansion strategies for electric vehicle charging networks: Model, algorithms, and case study

Abstract

Governments in many jurisdictions are taking measures to promote the use of electric vehicles. As part of this goal, it is crucial to provide a sufficient number of charging stations to alleviate drivers' anxieties associated with the range of the vehicle. The goal of this research is to help governments develop vehicle charging networks for public use via the application of multistage stochastic integer programming model that determines both the locations and capacities of charging facilities over finite planning horizons. The logit choice model is used to estimate drivers' choices of nearby charging stations. Moreover, we characterize the charging demand as a function of the charging station quantity to reflect the range anxiety of consumers. The objective of the model is to minimize the expected total cost of installing and operating the charging facilities. An approximation algorithm, a heuristic algorithm, and a branch‐and‐price algorithm are designed to solve the model. We conduct numerical experiments to test the efficiency of these algorithms. Importantly, each algorithm has advantages over the CPLEX MIP solver. Finally, the City of Oakville in Ontario, Canada, is used to demonstrate the effectiveness of this model.