Vehicles to grid (V2G) concept applied to a Virtual Power Plant structure

Renewable energy sources will play an increasingly central role in the power network of the future. The will to reduce the dependence on fossil sources as well as growing environmental awareness, both individually and governmentally, is forcing governments throughout the world to invest an enormous amount of capital in renewable energy sources. The European Union, through its Energy and Climate Policy, has fixed an ambitious target: to provide, 20% of electricity from renewable sources by 2020. The additional volatility introduced by renewable energy source to the grid can be compensated by energy storage systems as well as by demand control measurements and by the reinforcement of the power grid. These solutions can improve the system reliability of the electric grid and the efficiency of the energy supply and give more flexibility to the system. This study analyzes the possibilities to use electric vehicles connected to the grid as energy storage system within a Virtual Power Plant structure. Through the formulation of an optimization problem the optimal number of electric vehicles has been evaluated.