A new smart charging strategy for electric vehicles in energy communities
The aim of this study is to evaluate the energy and economic benefits of different Electric Vehicles (EV) charging strategies within Renewable Energy Communities (REC) in Italy. The electrification process for mobility purposes will lead to increased and concentrated electricity demand that may lead to network congestion and other issues. Distributed self-consumption combined with RECs and optimal control of EVs’ charging profiles may reduce the network stress and improve the economic benefits of stakeholders. A simulated case study is used to explore three cases in which 20 EVs (domestic and commercial): (i) are charged independently using a “standard” charging strategy, (ii) join a REC with other users and there aren’t modifications of EV charging profiles, (iii) implement smart charging strategies to integrate with the REC via real-time control infrastructure. In this last case, EV charging power is controlled by a remote controller that monitors the production and consumption of all REC members and controls the EV charge to maximize energy sharing while respecting infrastructure and users’ constraints (e.g., guarantees of minimum SOC, EV maximum charging power, etc.). The developed algorithm firstly simulates all EV trips in a year starting from probability distributions for different parameters, recreating their location and availability for charging on a 15min timestep granularity; secondly, it computes the REC energy flows and assigns the charging power to all vehicles, based on the charging logic which changes across the cases. In conclusion, the paper shows how the EV smart charging and load shift can generate additional value in the form of incentives (+50%) to the REC, without creating disruptions in terms of mobility.