Abstract
Several European countries have launched programs to increase the market penetration of battery electric vehicles (BEV). Similarly, politicians in Switzerland have targeted a 15% BEV share of new car registrations by 2022. As each electric car increases the power demand, new challenges are posed to the operation of existing distribution grid infrastructure. Here, a new bottom-up physical approach is presented that couples agent-based traffic simulations through an unsteady vehicle power consumption model with distribution grid power flow simulations. The impacts on hourly powerline loads from charging a car fleet with an 8.5% BEV share are quantified in the real distribution grid for the canton of Zurich. The grid is composed of 12,000 buses and 9,800 powerlines, providing power to 398,000 individual customers. Results indicate that the risk of overloaded powerlines is highest in low-level distribution grids. In our most critical future scenario, with simultaneous 8.5% BEV charging at 8 pm with 11 kW, peak line loads reach up to 132% of rated capacity. Hence, in a potential energy transition towards a decarbonised future, each individual distribution grid could face critical loads at specific temporal and spatial bottlenecks. Thus, grids should be assessed individually to limit uncertainties and risks of critical power system situations.
Highlights
In 2017, the transport sector accounted for 27% of total EU28 greenhouse gas emissions [1], of which 32% emanated from combustion-engine passenger cars
In this work, the novel extensions to the EnerPol framework are: (i) integration of a new vehicle power consumption model that accounts for the type of battery electric vehicles (BEV), how the BEV is driven, and for the topography and weather in which the BEV is driven; (ii) integration of a new distribution grid power flow model that is used to quantify the impact of BEV charging on the local grid; and (iii) integration of a new forecast model of BEV owners that accounts for the effects of neighbourhood clustering
We demonstrate a novel physical bottom-up methodology to assess the impact of BEV charging on real and large-scale distribution grids that include thousands of buses and powerlines
Summary
In 2017, the transport sector accounted for 27% of total EU28 greenhouse gas emissions [1], of which 32% emanated from combustion-engine passenger cars. Increasing the share of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) is widely considered to be an effective measure to decrease CO2 emissions in a decarbonised future. To this end, the Swiss government has established a political target that by 2022, 15% of newly registered cars are BEVs [2]. The Swiss government has established a political target that by 2022, 15% of newly registered cars are BEVs [2] This increased BEV share will decrease gasoline consumption and thereby emissions in the transportation sector. In that each electric car increases the power demand, new challenges are posed to the infrastructure of the existing distribution grid. It is necessary to assess the implications of a decarbonised transportation sector on the operational limits of the power system
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