Optimal allocation of fast charging stations for large-scale transportation systems

Abstract

The modern quest for sustainable cities increasingly relies on using distributed energy resources (DERs), which requires new planning practices. This paper proposes an optimisation strategy to solve the fast charging station (FCS) allocation of electric vehicles (EVs). A mixed-integer programming (MIP) model minimises investment and operation costs, considering the building of FCSs with photovoltaic (PV) systems over carports and battery energy storage systems (BESSs) as planning alternatives. The embedded set covering problem has special aspects that allow the development of a novel approach to evaluate candidate sites to accommodate FCSs. A preprocessing strategy is developed to fine-tune the entire solution space. A multiobjective approach is used to obtain an optimal compromise solution for the MIP model when it is required to serve the maximum number of EV owners at the lowest possible cost. The combined strategies reduce the computational burden, allowing full-scale studies of EV charging system planning. The results of studies using a real-world Brazilian case certify the benefits of the proposed strategy in the FCS allocation problem and in optimising the operation when considering renewable alternatives.

KEYWORDS:

• Facility allocation
• multiobjective programming
• fast charging stations
• electric vehicles
• renewable energies

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS:

• SDG 11: Sustainable cities andcommunities

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

The authors kindly acknowledge the support of CNPq, Grants No. 422765/2021-0 and 309925/2021-5, and the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), Grants No. 2020/13578-4, 2016/08645-9, and 2020/09838-0. The authors also acknowledge the support of CPFL Energia for their strategic support through the ANEEL R&D PD-00063-3060.

Notes on contributors

Caio dos Santos

Caio dos Santos received a B.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering from the Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Brazil, in 2017, and an M.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Campinas (UNICAMP), São Paulo, Brazil, in 2020. He is currently a Ph.D. student at UNICAMP and his research interests span the areas of mathematical formulations for improving optimisation models, power systems optimisation, expansion and operation planning of power systems, and modern power systems. He is currently a Performance Data Scientist at Serena Energy, developing optimisation algorithms for the free energy market.

José C. G. Andrade

José Carlos Garcia Andrade achieved the titles of Electrical Engineer (2013), Master (2016) and PhD (2020) in Electrical Engineering, in the field of Electrical Energy, at The University of Campinas (UNICAMP). Presently, is a Collaborative Researcher at FEEC/UNICAMP focusing on electric mobility, distributed energy resources, and power systems (distribution). Also participates in RD projects between FEEC/UNICAMP and distribution utilities and review articles for 8 journals, such as IEEE Smart Grid, IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery and IET Generation, Transmission Distribution.

Washington A. Oliveira

Washington A. Oliveira is Associate professor at Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Limeira, São Paulo, Brazil. His research interests include (i) industrial mathematical modelling, (ii) multiobjective programming, and (iii) multi-criteria decision analysis under uncertainty.

Christiano Lyra

Christiano Lyra Filho (Senior Member, IEEE): finished high school as an AFS exchange student in Philadelphia, PA, USA, in 1970. He received a B.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering from the Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil, in 1975, and an M.Sc. and a Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Campinas (UNICAMP), São Paulo, Brazil, in 1979 and 1984, respectively. Following a brief career at the Power Company of the São Francisco River, he joined the Faculty of UNICAMP in 1978, where he is a Professor of Electrical Engineering and has served as the head of the Department of Systems Engineering, Director of the Graduate Program in Electrical Engineering, Dean of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, a councilman at UNICAMP Press, and a member of the Board of Trustees of the University. He coordinates the Institute for Advanced Studies (IdEA) and the Laboratory for Energy Network Optimisation (LABORE).