A dynamic approach to optimal planning of electric vehicle parking lots

Abstract In this paper, a dynamic planning approach is presented in order to determine the optimal number, location, capacity and time for construction or development of electric vehicles (EVs) parking lots in a distribution system. Estimating the power exchange between the EVs and parking lots is a fundamental prerequisite in parking lot planning. The amount of power exchanged depends on how EVs are charged and discharged. Hence, an innovative method is presented in order to scheduling of EV charge and discharge as a subsection of parking lot dynamic planning. Also, to select the most effective parking lot, a criterion based on the energy required to reach the parking lot is proposed which is able to minimize both the time and energy required to arrive at the parking lot. Moreover, the uncertainty in the investment required and the budget allocated to construction and development of the parking lots are modeled. In order to maximize the parking lot operator profit, revenues and costs in the parking lot lifecycle are formulated. By investigating some problems including budget shortage, its uncertainty and allocation type in different years; effects of the budget on dynamic planning of EV parking lots are studied. Also, the influence of the growth rate of EVs is also addressed by defining different scenarios. The results show that the proposed approach is able to perform the planning of EV parking lot in an optimal way leading to the maximum possible profit while considering financial limitations and system constraints. Also, adopting a proper approach to allocate the budget in different years is completely dependent on the way EVs grow in the network. Moreover, an increase in the budget uncertainty affects both the parking lot planning and gains of investment.