Placement Evaluation of Distributed Energy Storage for Integrating EV Charging and PV Solar Infrastructure

The current and future growth in the penetration of the solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation and electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure across legacy distribution networks may cause numerous system vulnerabilities. In this paper, an approach is presented to evaluate a distribution system in terms of PV and EV penetration, as well as natural load growth based on a 2025 projection. The system vulnerabilities are identified in worst-case operation scenarios using time-series power flow analysis and load hosting capacity studies. Then, the negative impacts associated with PV and EV penetrations are mitigated using distributed energy storage deployment along the feeders. Finally, a business case and value proposition for the distributed energy storage is developed based on their applications and valuation in a regulated utility environment. The approach and findings of this paper may provide inputs to regulated utilities as they plan for the anticipated growth in PV and EV infrastructure on their legacy distribution networks.