Ancillary Services Participation for Electric Vehicle Fleets

Abstract

Amid growing concerns of global climate disruption, a diverse set of stakeholders are advocating for deep decarbonization efforts in sectors such as electrical power generation and transportation. This Master’s Project (MP) will explore the potential scenarios when these two sectors begin to merge. As the electrification of vehicles becomes commonplace, benefits and limitations will become evident across the U.S. electric grid. The impact of fleet-scale adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) implementation will be discussed. An EV fleet managed by a central entity has the possibility of aggregating their stored power for a grid service through a specialized charger that allows for bi-directional electric flow. The communication software and ability to transfer power from grid to vehicle is called vehicle-to-grid implementation, or V2G. V2G is a broad term with multiple applications. The focus of this MP will be on EV fleets’ ability to provide ancillary services. The ancillary services market represents an array of services that provide general grid support, rather than outright electrical power capacity. Ancillary services include services such as frequency regulation and voltage control.