Most of the road transportations currently depend on fossil fuels, which results in significant environmental and health issues. This is being addressed with the deployment of electric vehicles (EVs). However, a massive penetration will lead to new technical and economic challenges for power systems. This paper proposes a novel way to account for the effect of this new load and to minimize the negative impacts by providing new tools for the agent responsible of managing the EV charge in some area (EV aggregator). The proposed method allows EV charging at the lowest cost while complying with technical constraints required by distribution system operator and transmission system operator. Moreover, EV users are able to choose among different customer choice products that meet their needs in terms of charging time. A case study in the city of Quito, Ecuador, is analyzed in this paper, where the advantages of the proposed coordinated charging method are quantified. The model presents cost benefits compared to uncoordinated charging while complying with technical constraints. In addition, the savings using the presented model are at least 5% higher than uncoordinated charging and can reach more than 50% at best.

Inhabited islands depend primarily on fossil fuels for electricity generation and they also present frequently a vehicle fleet, which result in a significant environmental problem. To address this, several governments are investing in the integration of Renewable Energy Sources (RESs) and Electric Vehicles (EVs), but the combined integration of them creates challenges to the operation of these isolated grid systems. Thus, the aim of this paper is to propose an Electric Vehicle charging strategy considering high penetration of RES. The methodology proposes taxing CO ${}_2$ emissions based on high pricing when the electricity is mostly generated by fossil fuels, and low pricing when there is a RES power excess. The Smart charging methodology for EV optimizes the total costs. Nine scenarios with different installed capacity of solar and wind power generation are evaluated and compared to cases of uncoordinated charging. The methodology was simulated in the Galapagos Islands, which is an archipelago of Ecuador, and recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as both a World Heritage site and a biosphere reserve. Simulations results demonstrate that the EV aggregator could reduce costs: 7.9% for a case of 5 MW installed capacity (wind and PV each), and 7% for a case of 10 MW installed (wind and PV each). Moreover, the use of excess of RES power for EV charging will considerably reduce CO ${}_2$ emissions.

Isolated microgrids, such as islands, rely on fossil fuels for electricity generation and include vehicle fleets, which poses significant environmental challenges. To address this, distributed energy resources based on renewable energy and electric vehicles (EVs) have been deployed in several places. However, they present operational and planning concerns. Hence, the aim of this paper is to propose a two-level microgrid problem. The first problem considers an EV charging strategy that minimizes charging costs and maximizes the renewable energy use. The second level evaluates the impact of this charging strategy on the power generation planning of Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos, Ecuador. This planning model is simulated in HOMER Energy. The results demonstrate the economic and environmental benefits of investing in additional photovoltaic (PV) generation and in the EV charging strategy. Investing in PV and smart charging for EVs could reduce the $NPC$ by 13.58%, but a reduction in the $NPC$ of the EV charging strategy would result in up to 3.12%.

A transition to a sustainable energy system is essential. In this context, smart grids represent the future of power systems for efficiently integrating renewable energy sources and active consumer participation. Recently, different studies were performed that defined the conceptual architecture of power systems and their agents. However, these conceptual architectures do not overcome all issues for the development of new electricity markets. Thus, a novel conceptual architecture is proposed. The transactions of energy, operation services, and economic flows among the agents proposed are carefully analysed. In this regard, the results allow setting their activities’ boundaries and state their relationships with electricity markets. The suitability of implementing local electricity markets is studied to enforce competition among distributed energy resources by unlocking all the potential that active consumers have. The proposed architecture is designed to offer flexibility and efficiency to the system thanks to a clearly defined way for the exploitation of flexible resources and distributed generation. This upgraded architecture hereby proposed establishes the characteristics of each agent in the forthcoming markets and studies to overcome the barriers to the large deployment of renewable energy sources.