Managing plug-in electric vehicles in eco-environmental operation optimization of local multi-energy systems

Local multi-energy systems (LMES) have been recently recognized as a promising alternative to centralized energy supply systems to meet local energy needs, since they promote efficient use of the available energy thanks to the coordination of heat and power technologies, storage, flexible demand and plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). In this framework, PEVs represent loads to satisfy in the grid-to-vehicle (G2V) mode, while also serving as distributed storage when equipped with vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, and can provide both economic and environmental benefits if properly managed. The contribution of this paper is to present a comprehensive multi-objective optimization model for the energy management of an LMES in the presence of PEVs, with the aim to combine maximization of LMES operator's profit with the minimization of CO2 emissions. The LMES supplies electricity, heat and cooling to a building cluster with PEVs, which can operate in both G2V and V2G modes. The problem consist...