Dual Horizon EV Charging Station Planning Incorporating Multi-Level Charging Strategy and Renewable Energy Resources

Over the past few years, the global EV market has grown dramatically, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, with government support and the advancement in charging technology. As EV markets expand, publicly accessible charging infrastructures need to be expanded. However, randomly placing CSs without prior research affects charging dissatisfaction for EV owners and inefficient CS operations. For instance, customers prefer CSs to function similarly to gasoline stations (GS), but the long waiting time for charging at CS compared to refueling at GS, annoys users. Furthermore, the establishment of new CSs gives stress to the power grid in several ways such as sudden peak demand, voltage fluctuation, and substation overload due to simultaneous charging of EVs. Also, these impacts vary with increasing EV penetration levels in the future. The above-mentioned characteristics make the design and management of CSs very challenging. 

In view of the above, this project aims to develop a dual horizon short-term and long-term planning framework for upcoming CSs in the UAE. In the short-term planning stage, the optimal locations and capacity for CSs are determined by considering customer satisfaction, distribution network safety, and station economy. Further, to enhance the user charging experience, a multi-level charging strategy (MlCS) that allows customers to choose their charging rate is introduced. The charging rate can be selected based on the customer’s preference for charging time and battery life. Thereafter, an improved optimization technique shall be developed to solve the CS problem efficiently. Finally, the impact of EV charging on the UAE power grid under different EV penetration levels will be assessed and a long-term planning model is recommended taking into account solar photovoltaic generation and grid reinforcement expansion. The outcome of this project will support the UAE’s green mobility 2030 strategy to increase sustainable EV transportation by properly allocating CSs without burdening grid. 

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Contributors:  

• Prof. Hussain Shareef, Professor – UAEU

• Dr. Rachid Errouissi , Assistant Professor – UAEU

• Dr. Asna Madathodika, Postdoctoral fellow – UAEU