Preliminary sizing of a collaborative system: Photovoltaic power plant and electric vehicle fleet

Simultaneous upcoming of photovoltaic generation and electric vehicles increases constraints on electric power system. This paper explores the possible synergy between these players so as to jointly improve the production predictability while ensuring a low carbon mobility. First a context is defined for this collaboration. It consists in the association of a photovoltaic producer and some electric vehicles owners so as to both manage the EV recharge and meet a day-ahead production commitment. Several currently studied questions such as commitment strategies or optimal charging can be transposed into the proposed context called collaborative system. Here, we mainly focus on its sizing in terms of PV rated power and number of vehicles. A simplified model of the system is thus realised, including a day ahead commitment and an optimal vehicle charging planning, based on deterministic vehicle characteristics. First results show a strong influence of the sizing on the potential added value of vehicles in this association. Then, we assess the impact of day-ahead production forecast quality by comparing persistence forecast with some meteorological data. It appears that other things remaining equal, an imprecise forecast will increase the optimal number of vehicles that are supposed to get into the collaborative system. Finally, the robustness of the charging planning is investigated.