Abstract
Recently, the penetration rate of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and renewable/distributed energy resources (RERs/DERs) has increased in microgrids (MGs). However, due to the high uncertainties on both the demand (i.e., PHEV) and the supply (i.e., RER) sides, it is an indisputable fact that these components should be coordinated intelligently with the rest of the grid. In this article, a smart charging scheme is proposed for PHEVs that can minimize the energy drawn from the main grid, and this minimizes the dependence of MGs on the main grid by maximizing the use of RERs/DERs. Two scenarios are conducted on the modified version of the IEEE 33-bus test system to verify the effectiveness of the proposed power management strategy for different penetration levels of PHEVs, and the results of the proposed scheme are compared with the results of other, previously reported strategies. The obtained results from offline digital time-domain simulations and software verification indicate that the energy exchanged between the MG and the main grid to charge PHEVs is decreased since the RER/DER generation is increased. Therefore, the obtained results reveal the superiority of the proposed power management strategy over other, previously reported strategies.