This paper introduces an energy management algorithm for a hybrid solar and biogas-based electric vehicle charging station (EVCS) that considers techno-economic and environmental factors. The proposed algorithm is designed for a 20-kW EVCS and uses a fuzzy inference system in MATLAB SIMULINK to manage power generation, EV power demand, charging periods, and existing charging rates to optimize real-time charging costs and renewable energy utilization. The results show that the proposed algorithm reduces energy costs by 74.67% compared to existing flat rate tariffs and offers lower charging costs for weekdays and weekends. The integration of hybrid renewables also results in a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, with payback periods for charging station owners being relatively short, making the project profitable.

Over time, distribution systems have begun to include increased distributed energy resources (DERs) due to the advancement of auxiliary power electronics, information and communication technologies (ICT), and cost reductions. Electric vehicles (EVs) will undoubtedly join the energy community alongside DERs, and energy transfers from vehicles to grids and vice versa will become more extensive in the future. Virtual power plants (VPPs) will also play a key role in integrating these systems and participating in wholesale markets. Energy trading on a peer-to-peer (P2P) basis is a promising business model for transactive energy that aids in balancing local supply and demand. Moreover, a market scheme between VPPs can help DER owners make more profit while reducing renewable energy waste. For this purpose, an inter-VPP P2P trading scheme is proposed. The scheme utilizes cutting-edge technologies of the Avalanche blockchain platform, developed from scratch with decentralized finance (DeFi), decentralized applications (DApps), and Web3 workflows in mind. Avalanche is more scalable and has faster transaction finality than its layer-1 predecessors. It provides interoperability abilities among other common blockchain networks, facilitating inter-VPP P2P trading between different blockchain-based VPPs. The merits of DeFi contribute significantly to the workflow in this type of energy trading scenario, as the price mechanism can be determined using open market-like instruments. A detailed case study was used to examine the effectiveness of the proposed scheme and flow, and important conclusions were drawn.

Concerns about the power outages caused by extreme weather events have led the study of grid resilience. Among the grid resilience studies, this paper presents an overview to evaluate and improve grid resilience through the analysis of determinants of the impact and the grid capability. The impact is determined by the extreme weather events, grid exposure, and grid vulnerability. Whereas, the determinants of the grid capability are physical durability, operational versatility, and rehabilitation capacity. Conceptual knowledge for quantifying the impact and the grid capability is also presented. Then, some improvement strategies to reduce the impact and to improve the grid capability based on their determinants are discussed. The study of the impact and the grid capability provides a preliminary guideline to plan appropriate grid resilience improvement strategies.

The radical increase in the popularity of electric vehicles (EVs) has in turn increased the number of associated problems. Long waiting times at charging stations are a major barrier to the widespread adoption of EVs. Therefore, battery swapping stations (BSSs) are an efficient solution that considers short waiting times and healthy recharging cycles for battery systems. Moreover, swapping stations have emerged as a great opportunity not only for EVs, but also for power systems, with regulation services that can be provided to the grid particularly for small networks, such as microgrid (MG) systems. In this study, the optimum location and size that maximize the revenue of a swap station in an MG system are investigated. To the best of our knowledge, this study is first to solve the placing and sizing problem in the MG from the perspective of a BSS. The results indicate that bus 23 is the BSS’s optimal location and is crucial for maximizing revenue and addressing issues like the provision of ancillary services in microgrid system. Finally, the swap demand profile of the station serving electric bus public transportation system was obtained using an analytical model based on public transportation data collected in Berlin, Germany.

With the rapid transformation of the energy sector towards modern power systems represented by smart grids (SGs), microgrids (MG), and distributed generation, blockchain (BC) technology has shown the capability for solving security, privacy, and reliability challenges that hinder progress. Currently, the energy structure is forming a decentralized system that prioritizes customer satisfaction. BC technology undertakes power network stockholders in a secure energy market, transparent transactions, and fair competition and offers promising energy solutions. This paper is a comprehensive review of energy applications using BC integration. Firstly, we introduce the drivers of BC leverage that make it a potentially important component of the power network. Following that, we provide background information on BC and its application in areas other than the energy sector. Subsequently, we discuss studies and sort potential energy applications from various recent papers and surveys that have already adopted BC technology in the energy sector. Then, we summarize the pricing infrastructure for applying BC in the energy sector and identify the requirements to build it. Finally, energy security and privacy challenges based on BC are highlighted, along with potential drawbacks and concerns related to the pricing infrastructure.