Summary One of the aspects of smart/modern grids is to provide conditions for greater penetration of renewable energy resources such as wind power generation units to the grid. Uncertainties associated with the production of these resources require higher amount of reserve to ensure system security and reliability. On the other hand, by development and deployment of electric vehicles in the near future, it is expected that large fleets of electric vehicles will constitute a significant share of electricity demand. These vehicles are equipped with rechargeable and dischargeable batteries that enable them to provide ancillary services by coordination with the system operator and their participation in energy and reserve markets. In this paper, a market clearing model, which also quantifies optimal spinning reserve, at the presence of wind power and participation of electric vehicles in the energy and reserve markets is proposed. Test results for the IEEE-Reliability Test System (RTS) illustrate that electric vehicles participation in these markets can counterbalance the adverse effects of increasing power demand because of their charging while being able to manage renewable resources uncertainties and hence improve system reliability. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.