Relationship between wind power, electric vehicles and charger infrastructure in a two-settlement energy market

Abstract

This study investigates the technological and economic relationships of integrating wind power, plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) and mixtures of Level 1/Level 2 charger infrastructures in New York Independent System Operator’s (NYISO’s) two-settlement wholesale electric energy market. Using 7560 scenarios constructed from various PEV penetrations, Level 2 charging and wind dispatch policies, this study reports findings that substantiate and challenge aspects of the previously envisioned synergy between wind power, PEVs and charging infrastructure. An econometric model based on historical market data, including system-level costs of load ramps, was used to study resource integration and to avoid data fidelity issues that plague traditional fundamentals-based models. Results show: (1) the existence of time-series correlation between PEV charging and wind dispatch depends on curtailment policy, (2) PEV charging with wind over-forecast nearly triples the rate of reduction in curtailed wind energy compared to under-forecast, (3) using wholesale energy cost as metric, PEVs can be adversely coupled to curtailable wind, and decoupled with must-take wind, and (4) PEV penetration, Level 2 charging and wind power may be economic substitutes in the energy market.