Vehicle to Grid Decentralized Dispatch Control Using Consensus Algorithm with Constraints

Alexandre Lucas, Sun Chang

MIT-Portugal Program, Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon, Portugal.
Singapore MIT-Alliance, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore..

DOI: 10.4236/sgre.2013.46A002                

Abstract

With the transition to electric vehicle technologies, large scale support infrastructure is being deployed. The vehicleto-grid (V2G) concept is an opportunity to take advantage from both infrastructure and electric vehicle drive. However, coordinating large number of agents in a reasonable speed and lack of homogenous distribution of the service provided by vehicle users to the grid have been left unattended. We apply consensus theory to the V2G concept presenting a decentralized control solution to assure that all vehicles within a region, regardless of their technology, positioning or state of charge, can communicate with their neighbors and agree on how much energy each should individually exchange with the grid. Applying constraints to the system, we considered a 25,000 vehicle fleet connected to a grid during peak hours. Simulating power changes and vehicles entering and leaving the system, two groups of 5 vehicles were studied: the first group remained in the system during all peak hours, while the second group only an hour. Results showed that the two groups of vehicles despite connecting to the system at different times were able to reach consensus in t = 15 s, and reported a maximum error of ε < 0.01% if left in the system during all peak hours.

Keywords

Vehicle-to-Grid; Smart-Grid; Consensus; Decentralized Control; Infrastructure

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	W. Kempton and J. Tomic, “Vehicle-to-Grid Power Implementation: From Stabilizing the Grid to Supporting Large-Scale Renewable Energy,” Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 144, No. 1, 2005, pp. 280-294. doi:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2004.12.022
[2]	W. Kempton and J. Tomic, “Vehicle-to-Grid Power Fundamentals: Calculating Capacity and Net Revenue,” Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 144, No. 1, 2005, pp. 268279. doi:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2004.12.025
[3]	C. D. White and K. M. Zhang, “Using Vehicle-to-Grid Technology for Frequency Regulation and Peak-Load Reduction,” Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 196, No. 8, 2011, pp. 3972-3980. doi:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2010.11.010
[4]	A. Lucas, C. A. Silva and R. C. Neto, “Life Cycle Analysis of Energy Supply Infrastructure for Conventional and Electric Vehicles,” Energy Policy, Vol. 41, 2012, pp. 537547. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2011.11.015
[5]	Z. Qu, “Cooperative Control of Dynamical Systems,” 2nd Edition, Springer-Verlag, London, 2009, p. 325.
[6]	A. Jadbabaie, J. Lin and A. S. Morse, “Coordination of Groups of Mobile Autonomous Agents Using Nearest Neighbor Rules,” IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, Vol. 48, 2003, pp. 988-1001. doi:10.1109/TAC.2003.812781
[7]	J. A. Fax and R. M. Murray, “Information Flow and Cooperative Control of Vehicle Formations,” IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, Vol. 49, 2004, pp. 14651476. doi:10.1109/TAC.2004.834433
[8]	R. Olfati-Saber and R. Murray, “Consensus Protocols for Networks of Dynamic Agents,” Proceedings of the 2003 American Control Conference, Pasadena, 4-6 June 2003, pp. 951-956.
[9]	W. Ren, R. W. Beard and T. W. Mclain, “Coordination Variables and Consensus Building in Multiple Vehicle Systems,” In: V. Kumar, N. E. Leonard and A. S. Morse, Eds., Cooperative Control, Vol. 309 Lectures Notes in Control and Information Sciences, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 2005, pp. 171-188.
[10]	A. Tahbaz-Salehi and A. Jadbabaie, “Consensus over Ergodic Stationary Graph Processes,” IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, Vol. 55, 2010, pp. 225-230. doi:10.1109/TAC.2009.2034054
[11]	R. Olfati-Saber and R. Murray, “Consensus Problems in Networks of Agents with Switching Topology and TimeDelays,” IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, Vol. 49, 2004, pp. 1520-1533. doi:10.1109/TAC.2004.834113
[12]	J. Lin and A. S. Morse, “The Multi-Agent Rendezvous Problem: The Asynchronous Case,” Proceedings of the 43rd IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, Atlantis, 14-17 December 2004.
[13]	R. Olfati-Saber, “Flocking for Multi-Agent Dynamic Systems: Algorithms and Theory,” IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, Vol. 51, 2006, pp. 401-420. doi:10.1109/TAC.2005.864190
[14]	EFACEC Marketing and Communication Office, “EFA CEC Electronic Systems, EFACEC EV Normal ChargersTechnical Specification,” Porto, Portugal, 2010, 11 pages.
[15]	W. Kempton and S. E. Letendre, “Electric Vehicles as a New Power Source for Electric Utilities,” Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Vol. 2, No. 3, 1997, pp. 157-175.
[16]	W. Kempton and T. Kubo, “Electric-Drive Vehicles for Peak Power in Japan,” Energy Policy, Vol. 28, No. 1, 2000, pp. 9-18. doi:10.1016/S0301-4215(99)00078-6
[17]	W. Kempton, J. Tomic, S. Letendre A. Brooks and T. Lipman, “Vehicle-to-Grid Power: Battery, Hybrid, and Fuel Cell Vehicles as Resources for Distributed Electric Power in California,” California Air Resources Board and the California Environmental Protection Agency, and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Electric Transportation Program.
[18]	D. C. Shoup, “The High Cost of Free Parking,” Planners Press, Chicago, 2005, p. 733.
[19]	S. B. Peterson, J. Apt and J. F. Whitacre, “Lithium-Ion Battery Cell Degradation Resulting from Realistic Vehicle and Vehicle-to-Grid Utilization,” Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 195, No. 8, 2010, pp. 2385-2392. doi:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2009.10.010
[20]	M. Ehsani, Y. Gao, S. Gay and A. Emadi, “Modern Electric, Hybrid Electric, and Fuel Cell Vehicles Fundamentals, Theory, and Design,” CRC Press, New York, 2004, p. 424.