Promoting battery energy storage systems to support electric vehicle charging strategies in smart grids

In this paper an optimal strategy for electric vehicle (EV) charging is proposed to achieve the best network operating conditions, with the help of battery energy storage systems (BESS), while integrating photovoltaic power plants (PV). The electric vehicles can both participate in demand response (DR) and serve as energy storage facilities. They can respond to DR signals, such as price variations or direct control messages by modulating their power consumption, thus providing necessary flexibility to the grid operator. The simulations are performed on a test network, and the mathematical model has been implemented in Microsoft's CPLEX tool. The results have shown that in order to cope with the challenges generated by a large number of EVs, coordination of the EV charging not only reduces the difference between the peak and valley of the load demand, but also generates a number of favorable factors and improving the network operation.