The smart grid, regarded as the next generation of power grid, uses two-way flows of electricity and information to create a widely distributed automated resilient energy delivery network. The smart grid will meet environmental targets to accommodate a greater emphasis on demand response, and to support plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) as well as distributed generation and storage capabilities. The PEVs including all-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) will play a significant role in the electric power system. The connection of PEVs can have serious impact on the future smart grid. Although PEVs can provide a new opportunity to reduce oil consumption by drawing on power from the electric power grid, they can be used as energy storage to provide the energy into power grid. The power flow between PEVs and the grid can be bidirectional if PEVs have the function of vehicle-to-grid (V2G), which can be either as flexible loads (charging mode) or storage sources (discharging mode). To maximize the benefits of V2G, the emerging PEV infrastructure must provide access to electricity from the smart grid, satisfy driver expectations, and ensure safety. This chapter introduces a basic concept of the smart grid and its “building blocks,”microgrids, and impact of PEVs on distributed energy resources in the smart grid and V2G technology and PEVs charging infrastructures.

This chapter presents various aspects of grid-connected distributed generation systems with electric vehicle, including the historical growth of two dominating renewable energy sources, i.e., wind and solar, the existing technologies for large-scale generation, transmission and distribution, power quality, reliability, technical challenges, and possible solutions. Recent development of grid integration technologies, converter topologies, and control techniques are the foremost intention of this chapter.

The usage of electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) has increased significantly in recent years due to environmental concerns and hike in the fossil fuel price. These vehicles possess dual dynamic characteristics. They act as a load while in G2V (grid-to-vehicle) mode and as a generator while in V2G (vehicle-to-grid) mode. V2G concept can improve utility grid performance with regard to efficiency, stability and reliability by offering reactive power management and active power control, tracking intermittent renewable energy sources, load balancing and shifting via valley filling support, peak load shaving and current harmonics filtering in the output. On the other hand, G2V includes conventional and fast battery charging that can stress the grid distribution network due to high-power rating of EV batteries and by injecting harmonics. Sophisticated active and reactive power regulation as well as state-of-the-art monitoring system is required to overcome the impacts and to implement successful interfacing. This chapter discusses the impacts of G2V/V2G concepts on the smart grid active and reactive power profile and their optimum control strategies. The importance of and the technologies needed for smart monitoring system in charging/discharging mode are also reviewed. Simulation results show that controlled implementation of V2G can significantly contribute to enhancing dynamic performance and stability of the microgrid under different operating conditions.

Overcoming the technical hurdles to implementing plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) technology into the smart grid is only one aspect of this disruptive transitional process. To ensure the rapid diffusion and efficient integration of PHEV in the smart grid, a range of governance, economic, social and environmental dimensions must also be considered and challenges addressed. Providing a robust governance framework is paramount, as it will drive both positive and perverse industry behaviours. Such frameworks must provide a set of rules and incentives to promote a stable market environment for PHEV roll-out over the long-term. Importantly, a well-designed governance framework will underpin the necessary economic thrust for a PHEV market to get established and grow. Such business drivers are sometimes not immediately obvious and are hard to quantify under current market conditions, such as quantifying the monetary benefits of distributed PHEV for the purpose of grid peak demand management and control. The economic drivers of PHEV are largely related to the capacity and related cost of energy storage and the provision of distributed power systems for resupplying them as required. Social dimensions are often multi-faceted and complex, but without convincing consumers that PHEV is a necessary transformative technology that is also economically and environmentally superior to traditional transportation methods, PHEV will never gain sufficient traction. Moreover, many people are still not convinced that the battery systems used in PHEV, which are mostly composed of Lithium, are sustainable. Proven cradle-to-grave environmentally friendly sourcing and life cycle management strategies for PHEV batteries is essential to ensure that this technology is acknowledged as a better solution than traditional liquid and gas transport fuels. To seize the full suite of opportunities and benefits available from PHEV technology, all of these intertwined challenges must be addressed in an integrated manner. Untangling these issues and many others and then formulating multi-pronged strategies to overcome them in a concurrent fashion is a challenge, but one which must be undertaken in order to progress PHEV diffusion in society globally. This chapter seeks to unpack these four non-technical dimensions to PHEV diffusion. It will look at the opportunities and benefits related to each dimension along with the associated challenges and strategies to address them.