Impact of the Electric Vehicle on the Electric System

Abstract: Since few years the electric vehicles draw the attention. The battery technology’s continual improvements and incentives from the authorities guarantee them an assured future with a fast and considerable development. Some figures are forecasted by 2020: one or two millions electric vehicles. This could mean a huge increase in electricity consumption. The consequences on the total energy consumption have already been analyzed, however studies on the impact on the load curve remain scarce. In this context, this master thesis focuses on the impact of the electric vehicles’ charge on the French load curve and the production and consumption balancing. The grid issues are not studied here. The first part presents the state of the art in battery and electric vehicle technology, as well as battery charge’s characteristics. Besides the French traffic data are studied, in order to build the most realistic model as possible. The second part explains the principle of the modeling. A general and flexible model for the French fleet is built. This model can simulate the times of charge of a vehicle, and the state of charge of its battery, in order to get a total load curve for several days for an electric fleet. And finally, the different load curves are analyzed as well as their impacts on the electric balancing system and the possible solutions to lower these impacts. As the peak load for the electric vehicles’ charge corresponds to the total consumption peak in the evening according to the most probable scenario, services have to be implemented to reduce or put back the overload due to the electric vehicles. Those services (tariff signals regulations, battery management system, cut-off injunctions) have been tested. A model for grid injections during peak hours has also been developed, in order to help the electric system, and erase the electric vehicles’ impact on the load curve. Studies for the optimum load, the reserves and the margins are also suggested as well as other possible studies, such as EV’s carbon footprint. The reflections and strategies developed in this master thesis don’t reflect RTE’s policy and don’t commit the company.