Game-Theory Based V2G Coordination Strategy for Providing Ramping Flexibility in Power Systems

Large-scale integration of renewable generation into power systems invariably affects the system ramping capability. However, the vehicle-to-grid (V2G) concept that allows for using electric vehicles (EVs) as energy storages with the capability of bidirectional energy transfer between the EVs and the grid, can be employed to mitigate the above adverse effect. This paper proposes a game-theory-based V2G coordination strategy that uses EV clusters to improve ramping flexibility in power systems. In the proposed strategy, the V2G concept, representing the interactions between the distribution system operator (DSO) and EV clusters, is formulated as a Stackelberg game. The DSO acts as a leader who decides the charging prices for the buses to which the EV clusters are connected, while the EV clusters simply serve as followers, scheduling their own charging and discharging. This bi-level model is further reduced to a single-level, mixed-integer second-order cone programming (MISOCP) problem based on the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) conditions, the strong duality theorem and second-order cone (SOC) relaxation. The performance of the proposed V2G coordination strategy on a modified IEEE 33-bus system connecting EV clusters and PV generations is investigated through simulations, and the results demonstrate that the largest ramp of the system can be reduced by up to 39% when EV clusters are providing flexibility, while the EV clusters can also have greatly reduced charging costs.