Vehicle-to-grid application to improve microgrid operation efficiency

Abstract

Currently, the penetration rate of renewable energy sources (RESs) into the grid is increasing, especially solar and wind energy sources. This brings many benefits but also challenges since these sources inherently have unstable output power because they depend on practical factors. Microgrid (MG) with energy storage systems (ESSs) is a solution to utilize these RESs effectively. However, ESSs like battery storage system has high cost, making application deployment difficult. Therefore, the application vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology with appropriate control methods to MG will bring more efficiency and potential when electric vehicles (EVs) develop in the future. This article will study and evaluate the effectiveness of using V2G in combination with the droop control method to support islanded MG when encountering power imbalance using Matlab/Simulink. The results show a positive influence of V2G on the stability and operation efficiency of the MG.