See

discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261477959

Control of solar powered micro-grids using

electric vehicles

Conference Paper · September 2012

DOI: 10.1109/ICSET.2012.6357410

CITATIONS READS

4 27

4 authors, including:

Lanka Udawatta Udaya. Madawala

Higher Colleges of Technology University of Auckland
52 PUBLICATIONS 221 CITATIONS 206 PUBLICATIONS 2,604 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Don mahinda Vilathgamuwa

Queensland University of Technology
232 PUBLICATIONS 6,890 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

MPDTC / MPDCC / MPDPC View project

Modular multilevel converter View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Lanka Udawatta on 18 April 2016.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 IEEE ICSET 2012, Nepal

Control of Solar Powered Micro-grids Using

Electric Vehicles
+ ++
Lanka Udawatta*, Udaya K. Madawala*, Dharshana Muthumuni and Mahinda Vilathgamuwa
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Auckland*, New Zealand
+ ++
Manitoba HVDC Centre , Canada and Nanyang Technological University , Singapore
lanka@ieee.org, u.madawala@auckland.ac.nz, dharshana@hvdc.ca, emahinda@ntu.edu.sg

Abstract- Large scale solar plants are gaining recognition as
potential energy sources for future. In this paper, the feasibility
of using electric vehicles (EVs) to control a solar powered micro-
grid is investigated in detail. The paper presents a
PSCAD/EMTDC based model for the solar powered micro-grid
with EVs. EVs are expected to have both the vehicle-to-grid
(V2G) and grid-to-vehicle (G2V) capability, through which
energy can either be injected into or extracted from the solar
powered micro-grid to control its energy imbalance. Using the
model, the behaviour of the micro-grid is investigated under a
given load profile, and the results indicate that a minimum
number of EVs are required to meet the energy imbalance and it
is time dependent and influenced by various factors such as
depth of charge, commuting profiles, reliability etc..
I. INTRODUCTION
Scarcity of energy resources with ever increasing demand
challenges researchers to explore new energy systems.
Distributed generation (DG) is gradually replacing centralised
or grid based generation in order to utilise scattered energy
resources. Micro-grid is one of the approaches, yet needs
further analysis and investigations, especially when
delivering power under autonomous operation [1], [2]. Micro-
grids are becoming more attractive, in particular, as a
sustainable solution for the energy crisis. Micro-grids or
distributed generation systems are small-scale power
generation solutions, consisting of local energy resources and
facilities which are having self-sustaining capabilities. In a
micro-grid, generation can be from mini or micro hydro,
diesel, fuel cells, wind, solar, and other conventional
resources or micro sources, making small-scale renewable
power generation more viable. Furthermore, Smart Grid
concepts will have information technology (IT) enabled
infrastructure with smart devices for managing the
generation, transmission and utilization of power in a micro-
grid. Thus, Micro-grids is expected be smarter and more
intelligent in the near future. Nevertheless, there are still a
number of unsolved technical and operational problems, yet
to be addressed in micro-grids [3].
Recent studies on micro-grid have addressed a large
number of technical and practical problems [3]-[5].
Potentially, micro-grids experience several problems at
islanding or when operating as an autonomous system [3].
When the micro-grid detaches from the main grid, the voltage
phase angles at each source in the micro-grid will change,
resulting in an apparent reduction in local frequency. To
control frequency, system needs fast and accurate control of
the islanded system whenever it separates from the main grid.
In fact, this would be a challenging task if the system is
heavily reliant on renewable energy resources, especially
under the influence of wind and solar generation [6], [7]. This
issue has been investigated extensively in some research
studies. In [6], resource scheduling under uncertainty in a
smart grid with renewables and plug-in electric vehicles was
analised. Further, in this study, an optimization algorithm is
used to minimize the expected cost components and
emissions. In future, there will be different requirements for
micro-grids and related infrastructure for accessibility [8]-
[11]. One of the major provisions of micro-grid infrastructure
would be rapid charging and energy dispatching facilities for
electric vehicles. One of the advantageous of EVs or hybrid
electric vehicles (HEVs) is that they bring the opportunity of
shifting or diversifying the transportation energy demands
from petroleum to electricity. Furthermore, these vehicles can
be employed to transfer energy from one physical location to
another effectively. It has been estimated that in the US alone
there will be more than one million electric vehicles by 2015
[12]. To cater for this demand, it needs rapid growth in the
energy supply sector and connected infrastructure.
Nevertheless, it is important to investigate on resource
assessment of renewable energy bases. Focusing on wind and
solar, renewable resource assessment for New Zealand was
conducted in [13]. Results of this study are useful in
designing future micro-grids which are powered by
renewable resources. In developing EV charging stations and
peripherals, there are few research studies, in particularly,
contactless charging interface for electric vehicles in V2G
systems [8], charging control for plug-in vehicles [10], and
power management and power flow control with back-to-
back converters [14]. Furthermore, an analysis has been
carried out on cost of utilising EV batteries as energy storage
devices in power grids under vehicle to grid concept [15]. In
[16], “Living and Mobility”, an integrated approach is
explained under V2G.
According to the literature, there are a large number of
studies on micro-grids, addressing various technical and
practical issues. This paper presents a solar power based
micro-grid and proposes a control strategy, based on the
transfer of day time solar generation to night time
consumption using the V2G and G2V concept, to regulate the
energy imbalance in the system. This control concept can also
be applied to micro-grids with other renewable sources.

978-1-4577-1871-7/12/$26.00 ©2012 IEEE 270

 Wind Conventional

~ ~

Solar Main
PCC Grid

Loads EVs Storages

Fig. 1. Schematic of micro-grid connected to the main grid via point of common coupling (CCP), comprising different generators and loads.

II. MICRO-GRID MODEL

1500kW generation on a clear day will approximately meet
In general, micro-grid can be functioned either in grid the load. After supplying the daytime energy demand, there
connected mode or in autonomous mode. Fig. 1 shows a will be a surplus which should be stored or exchanged. With
schematic representation of a typical micro-grid consisting of the help of electrical vehicles, surplus energy produced in the
loads, generators and energy storage units. It is assumed that daytime can be transferred to the nighttime demand. In Fig. 2,
the micro-grid is connected to the main grid via point of it can be observed that night peak is occurred between 1800
common coupling (PCC), without compromising grid to 2000 hours. Each EV carries a 25kWh energy envelope, in
reliability or protection schemes. The load curve shown in
other words, effectively, 50kW power source for a period of
Fig. 2 represents an actual load curve of Northland, New
30 minutes. In this network, it is assumed that there are no
Zealand. For developing the model, scaled-down load curve
other generators, except one synchronous generator for
is used. Moreover, micro-grid network is designed to operate
largely on solar energy while a single diesel generator is maintaining the spinning reserve.
connected to control the small variations and meeting the
spinning reserve. Fig. 3 shows a structural schema of 1500
kW solar powered micro-grid which is designed on a solar
radiation map [13].

Fig. 2. Actual load curve of Northland, New Zealand on 29 April, 2012. Fig. 3. Structural schema of 1500 kW Solar Micro-grid for Northland.

271
 Fig. 5. Schematic of the micro-grid connected to 250kW photovoltaic module under PSCAD/EMTDC simulation model.
III. SYSTEM MODELLING
The micro-grid is mainly powered by 6 X 250kW solar
units. Any power shortage is handled by the diesel generator
rated at 60kW. Fig. 5 shows the PSCAD/EMTDC model
which simulates the micro-grid. This model consists of PV
array, DC-DC converter, three-phase inverter and step up
transformer unit. Solar irradiance data are fed into the model
to generate solar power. Micro-grid bus is rated at 11kV. Fig.
6 shows typical solar irradiance data under two different
weather conditions. However, it is noteworthy to mention that
detailed simulation is carried out on irradiance data of a clear
day. Electric vehicles used in this analysis have the
parameters as given in TAB. 1.
TABLE 1
ELECTRIC VEHICLE DATA FOR THE ANALYSIS
Energy storage capacity per vehicle 25kWh
Three-phase rapid charging time
Converter efficiency
Number of minimum deep discharges per day
Allowable maximum deep discharge
It is assumed that smart connections could inform EV users
Fig. 6. Solar irradiance used in the PV based power generation.
to charge and discharge as requested by the grid operator.
This has been analysed in different research topics. However,
in this analysis, an optimum criterion of dispatching of
electric vehicles is not taken into account. In fact, it focuses
on transferring excess daytime solar energy to night-time.
Energy balance is kept by controlling the number of plug-in
EVs which virtually maintains the active power-frequency
balance. In a sudden islanding, it applies in stand-alone mode
of easy operation when the utility grid fails or disconnects
from the micro-grid. Thus, for a given instant, active power
supplied from distributed generations should satisfy the load
demand and the system losses, which leads to,
n m p q
SG
(t ) + ¦ Pj S (t ) + ¦ Pk V 2G (t ) = PL (t ) + PD (t ) + ¦ Pl G 2V (t ) (1)
¦P
i =1
i
j =1 k =1 l =1
Here, Pi SG (t ) is the power supplied by the ith synchronous
generator, Pj S (t ) is the power supplied by the jth solar unit,
Pk V 2G (t ) is the V2G power by the kth EV, and Pl G 2V (t ) is the
30 min lth EV charging unit at time t. PL(t) and PD(t) represent the
98.5% power demand and power loss of the network at time t
1 respectively. Note here that, similarly, reactive power can
also be balanced.
80%
IV. CONCEPT OF MICRO-GRID CONTROL AND ENERGY
TRANSFER
The available EVs which are plugged into the micro-grid over
daytime can charge the EV batteries and store energy from
solar generation. During the night or night peak hours, they
can sell it back to the grid at a higher price. This concept is
applied in the analysis in order to absorb the excess energy
generated from 1500kW solar panels, especially from 800 to
1600 hours as shown in Fig. 7. Moreover, simulation results
from PSCAD/EMTDC model on individual modules, i.e.,
250kW units, are given in Section V. It can be assumed that
in each charging and discharging operation, enough energy is
left over to drive a short trip. In terms of energy, this can be
computed and accommodated by keeping a safety margin.
TAB. 2 shows micro-grid data for the simulations and
required number of EVs.
272
 TABLE 2
MICRO-GRID DATA FOR SIMULATION

Excess energy from the solar (Refer Fig. 7) 4634kWh

EV carrier energy envelop (inject 50% of full capacity) 12.5kWh
No. of vehicles required to transfer 371
Increased reliability of the fleet by adding 15% 56
No. of minimum EVs required in the pool 427
Solar capacity 250kW X 6
Synchronous generator for spinning reserve 60kW
Peak power in the MG load curve 619.5 KW
Minimum power in the MG load curve 248.2 kW

In calculating the number of minimum electric vehicles

required, excess energy is taken into account in keeping a
Fig. 7. Micro-grid load curve and PV generation.
margin for career reliability. To increase the reliability
further, operating leverage of 15% is added.
V. RESULTS
The real and reactive power exchange between the micro-
grid and the PV system was investigated using
PSCAD/EMTDC simulation. Fig. 8 shows the number of
electric vehicles which are operating as sources or loads in a
24 hour period. In controlling the excess energy, during the
daytime, EVs are operating as loads, i.e., G2V transfer. Note
that individual scheduling is not taken into account.

Fig. 7. Micro-grid load curve and PV generation.

It is assumed that each EV must have three basic features in

order to realise this concept, specifically, a connection to the
micro-grid for electrical energy flow, control or smart
connection for communication with the grid operator, and
controls and metering facilities built in or on-board. It is also
assumed that synchronous generator is providing the spinning
reserve in a case of islanding. To improve the reliability, in
this case, there shall be two small generators. Fig. 8 shows the Fig. 8. Number of cars operating as generators (V2G) and load (G2V).
excess amount of solar energy that transferred from daytime
to night-time via electric vehicles under G2V.

273
 Fig. 9 shows the amount of energy transferred to the micro-
grid under the concept of V2G. This reflects the energy
balance, i.e., controlling the excess energy while managing
the total load curve alone the solar generation. It is assumed
that the synchronous generator will be responsible for the
overall control task, especially absorbing small power
fluctuations in the micro-grid providing the spinning reserve.
Fig. 9. Power transfer to the micro-grid directly and through V2G
Fig. 10 shows solar irradiance data used for
PSCAD/EMTDC Simulation. Note that on certain days, there
might be severe variations in the irradiance level.
Fig. 10. Solar irradiance for PSCAD/EMTD Simulation
Fig. 11 shows the output power of a single 250kW solar panel
unit subjected to solar irradiation level in Fig. 10. Moreover,
Fig. 12 shows the voltage and current transients. This refers
to Fig. 5 and data are taken at the measuring point shown in
the PSCAD/EMTDC simulation model.
Fig. 11. Power generation of 250kW under PSCAD/EMTD Simulation
Nevertheless, it is import to investigate the worst case
scenario in a cloudy day. It is a fact that 1500kW solar system
alone cannot be sustained. However, the system can be
designed to operate on the above load curve, only with solar
power, if the total solar system is rated and designed to
5050kW. However, in this study, cost-benefit analysis on
solar based investment is not carried out. If the power
requirement of the load in micro-grid is more than the power
generated by the above system, the balance power is supplied
by the main grid as shown in Fig. 1.
Fig. 12. Transient response of the voltage and current profile
Furthermore, this simulation is extended to investigate the
extreme conditions, i.e., under bad weather conditions (refer
Fig. 6). It is a fact that, to have the same solar generation to
meet the demand of load curve, the installed system capacity
should be increased. To control and meet the energy demand,
only through solar generations, it needs a system of 5050kW.
In Fig. 13, it can be noted that even during the daytime, solar
power is not enough to cater the load. Nevertheless, same
demand can be met by the solar energy alone. Moreover,
investment on this system might be infeasible at this
economic condition. Further, computational intelligence
algorithms can be effectively applied to optimise under
different constraints [17], [18]. With the incorporation of
intelligent controlling, scheduling and coordinating between
electric vehicles and micro-grid, situation can be improved,
even under extreme conditions.
274

Fig. 13. Controlling the micro-grid under extremely low irradiation
It is worthy to note that scheduling, controlling and
coordinating of individual electric vehicles are not taken into
account. Moreover, this would be a multi-dimensional
complex optimization problem, comprising of a large number
of constraints under different scenarios. Noteworthy
mentioning that the solar powered micro-grid is under the
strain of heavy charging and discharging. In fact high
charging power is a source of harmonic, which can worsen
the power quality of a stand-alone micro-grid. The main
problem with Vehicle-2-Grid technology would be the
difficulty in getting the infrastructure up and running,
especially the locations where renewable resources are
greatly available.
VI. CONCLUSIONS
A solar powered micro-grid, controlled using V2G and
G2V concepts, has been presented. To control the energy
imbalance of the micro-grid, bi-directional energy transfer
using electric vehicles is demonstrated. A PSCAD/EMTDC
based simulation model has been presented to demonstrate
the behaviour of the solar powered micro-grid. Under a given
solar irradiation profile, generated power of 1500kW micro-
grid is simulated on the PSCAD/EMTDC model. Scaled-
down real load curve is used to demonstrate the proposed
V2G and G2V concepts. In this study, it could be simulated
that electric vehicles can be effectively dispatched in order to
absorb or release energy, as required by the micro-grid.
Optimum number of electric vehicles required to meet the
energy imbalance is computed. The proposed control
philosophy can also be applied to micro-grids powered by
renewable energy sources of stochastic nature.
View publication stats
REFERENCES
[1] R. H. Lasseter and P. Paigi, “Microgrid: A conceptual solution,” in
Proc. Annul IEEE Power Electronics Specialists Conference, Aachen,
Germany, 2004, pp. 4285-4290.
[2] B. Kroposki and G. Martin, “Hybrid renewable energy and Microgrid
research work at NREL,” in Proc. IEEE Power and Energy Society
General Meeting, 2010, pp. 1-4.
[3] A. A. Salam, A. Mohamed, and M. A. Hannan, “Technical challenges
on Micro-grid s,” ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences,
vol. 3, no. 6, pp. 64-69, December 2008.
[4] J. A. P. Lopes, C. L. Moreira, and A. G. Madureira, "Defining control
strategies for analysing micro-grid s islanded operation," in Proc. IEEE
Power Tech, Russia, 2005, pp. 1 - 7.
[5] F. A. Mohamed and H. N. Koivo, "System modelling and online
optimal management of Micro-grid using multi-objective
optimization," in Proc. International Conference on Clean Electrical
Power, May 2007, pp. 148 - 153.
[6] A. Y. Saber and G. K. Venayagamoorthy, "Resource scheduling under
uncertainty in a smart grid with renewables and plug-in vehicles," IEEE
Journal of Systems, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 103-109, March 2012.
[7] C. H. Wells, "Solar micro-grid s to accommodate renewable
intermittency," In Proc. IEEE PES Transmission and Distribution
Conference and Exposition, 2010, pp. 1-9.
[8] U. K. Madawala and D. J. Thrimawithana, "A Bidirectional inductive
power interface for electric vehicles in V2G systems," IEEE
Transactions on Industrial Electronics, vol. 58, no. 10, pp. 4789-4796,
October 2011.
[9] T. Ersal, C. Ahn, I. A. Hiskens, H. Peng, and J. L. Stein, "Impact of
Controlled Plug-In EVs on Micro-grid s: A Military Microgrid
Example," In Proc. IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting,
July 2011, pp. 1-7..
[10] R. J. Rei, F.J. Soars, P. M. R. Almeida, and J. A. P. Lopes, “Grid
interactive charging control for plug-in electric vehicles," In Proc. 13th
International IEEE Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems
(ITSC), September 2010, pp. 386-391.
[11] A. Rajapakse, D. Muthumuni, and N. Perera, “Grid integration of
Renewable energy systems,” Renewable Energy, T J Hammons (Ed.),
ISBN 978-953-7619-52-7, 2009.
[12] Department of Energy “One million electric vehicles by 2015” Status
Report, Department of Energy, USA, 2011.
[13] A. Tait, B. Liley, J. Sansom, and R. Henderson, “Finding New
Zealand’s renewable energy resources,” Journal of Water and
Atmosphere, vol. 13, no. 4, 2005.
[14] R. Majumder, A. Ghosh, G. Ledwich, F. Zare, “Power management and
power flow control with back-to-back converters” IEEE Transactions
on Power Systems, vol. 25, no. 2, 821-834, 2010.
[15] C. Zhou, K. Qian, M. Allan, and W. Zhou, "Modeling of the Cost of
EV Battery Wear Due to V2G Application in Power Systems," IEEE
Transactions on Energy Conversion, pp. 1041-1050, vol. 26, no. 4, pp.
1041-1051, 2011.
[16] U. K. Madawala, P. Schweizer, and V. V. Haerri, “Living and
Mobility-A novel multipurpose in-house grid interface with plug in
hybrid BlueAngle," In Proc. IEEE International Conference on
Sustainable Energy Technologies, 2008, pp. 531 - 536.
[17] L. Udawatta, K. Watanabe, K. Izumi, and K. Kiguchi, “Energy
Optimization of Switching Torque Computed Method for
Underactuated Manipulators,'' Proc. of Intelligent Autonomous Vehicle,
IAV 2001, Sapporo, Japan, 2001, pp. 394-399.
[18] R. S. Wimalendra, L. Udawatta, E. M. C. P. Edirisinghe and S.
Karunarathna, “Determination of Maximum Possible Fuel Economy of
HEV for Known Drive Cycle: Genetic Algorithm Based Approach,”
Proc. of the 4th International Conference on Information and
Automation for sustainability ICIAfS’08, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 2008,
pp. 289-294.
275