Smart Charging of Plug-in Vehicles with Driver Engagement for Demand Management and Participation in Electricity Markets
This project will develop fleet management systems, PEV forecasting methods, coordinated control approaches and communications to enable intelligent centralized control of PEV charging.
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Recipient
Berkeley, CA
Recipient Location
9th
Senate District
14th
Assembly District
$1,794,690
Amount Spent
Completed
Project Status
Project Result
The project successfully demonstrated a set of smart charging strategies at an Alameda County parking garage. Highlights include development of separate smart charging system platforms to meet the different requirements of each application (i.e., fleet vehicles, public vehicles, and the direct current fast charger); recruitment of public charging users to participate; public PEV managed charging to achieve utility bill savings by managing peak demand; and quantification of the potential of the fleet PEV managed charging system for multiple demand response products in California electricity markets. As a result of this project, LBNL was able to further build out the MyFleetBuy tool to help fleet owners incorporate PEVs into their fleet. LBNL is working with Alameda, Oakland, and Caltrans to help facilitate PEV smart charging technologies into their large-scale fleet procurement processes.
The Issue
Plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) charging presents new challenges for building and fleet owners and grid operators. PEV charging can add substantial power draw to a facility, and when several PEV chargers are co-located, the building or fleet owner is likely to face substantial demand charges. For grid operators, PEV charging can add substantial loads during periods when the grid is already stressed. Currently, no commercially-available solutions exist for intelligently coordinating vehicle charging by either responding to automated demand response signals, by mitigating demand charges, or by offering PEVs as a resource for the wholesale market.
Project Innovation
This project developed and demonstrated a managed charging system applied to more than 25 Alameda County fleet electric vehicles and charging stations. The researchers also developed approaches to engage non-fleet electric vehicle owners who charge their vehicles at Alameda County's publicly available charging stations and managed their charging station loads to further reduce utility costs. Although the project focused on one-way (uni-directional) charging, the approach is compatible with future vehicles and chargers that may have two-way (bi-directional) charging capability. The research had three main technical tasks: Task 1 - Characterize site and fleet, collect charging session and meter data, and analyze data for control strategies; Task 2 - Implement and demonstrate fleet and public electric vehicles managed charging control system; Task 3 - Quantify the potential of fleet and non-fleet electric vehicles in the managed charging system as demand response capabilities in the retail and wholesale electricity markets.
Project Benefits
This project developed an aggregation system for smart charging PEV vehicles to provide demand response, mitigate demand charges, and leverage time of use rates. A charging control system was applied to a fleet of vehicles owned by Alameda County and to charging stations that are used by both county vehicles and the public. The project added systems for intelligent prediction of PEV loads and control algorithms to create a flexible, modular, and scalable solution for smart charging county fleet and public PEVs. The managed charging control system will enable growth in PEV adoption without straining current grid infrastructure. These approaches can also be applied to commercial and workplace charging and provide large benefits in managing peak electricity demand across California by helping consumers reduce or shift their electricity use during times when electricity demand is high.
Consumer Appeal
Access to real time data and having control over charging is important to consumers. A mobile application was developed for simple and easy interaction for public participants. When the driver plugged in the vehicle and activate
Affordability
This project lowered costs for energy users by allowing them to participate in energy markets. In 2017, smart charging control strategies for fleet and direct current fast chargers were implemented in February and August independ
Environmental Sustainability
In an effort to reduce emissions from transportation, the state has a target of reaching 5 million zero emission vehicles on its roads by 2030 and 250,000 electric vehicle charging stations by 2025. Electric vehicle fleets will b
Key Project Members
Douglas Black
Subrecipients
The Regents of the University of California on behalf of the Berkeley campus
Bay Area Climate Collaborative
Kisensum
ChargePoint, Inc.
County of Alameda, General Services Agency
Match Partners
The Regents of the University of California on behalf of the Berkeley campus
Bay Area Climate Collaborative
Kisensum
ChargePoint, Inc.
County of Alameda, General Services Agency
