Optimal Charging Schedule for Electric Vehicles in a Microgrid with Renewable Energy Sources using DigSilent Power Factory and Matlab

Rising atmospheric pollution in developing countries like India has provided a much-needed impetus to Electric Vehicles (EVs) which offer various economic and environmental benefits. Merchant-owned fast charging stations are coming up as the penetration of EVs increases. The fast chargers installed in these facilities draw higher amount of power and may lead to adverse effects especially in a low voltage distribution microgrid with renewable energy sources. Maintaining voltage security for contingencies becomes crucial to prevent power blackouts. As the EVs spend considerable time at charging stations, fluctuations in non-EV load and power injection especially from renewable resources like solar energy and wind energy may be considered to obtain an optimal charging schedule for EVs. This paper presents such a scheduling approach in a microgrid along with elimination of penalties imposed for violating contingency limits applicable to the merchant-owned fast charging stations using real-time bidirectional communication between DigSilent Power Factory and Matlab.