Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) Enabled Renewable-Powered Microgrids: A Sustainable Approach to Carbon Emission Reduction

Abstract: The increasing use of electric vehicles (EVs) raises electricity demand and questions the environmental impacts of EV charging by electricity produced from fossil-fuel sources. Integrated renewable-based microgrids with vehicle to grid (V2G) enable coordinated renewable generation, EV charging and discharging, battery energy storage and grid exchange to minimize carbon emissions. This paper proposes an energy management framework for V2G-enabled renewable-powered microgrids by which the carbon emissions are minimized, while the utilization and operational efficiency of the system are maximized. The proposed system comprises photovoltaic (PV) generation, bidirectional EV charging, battery energy storage system (BESS) and grid-connected microgrid. An energy management policy is formulated to prioritize renewable utilization, schedule EV charging during high solar generation, utilize V2G discharging during high demand, and manage battery operations in accordance with operational constraints. The performance of the proposed framework is evaluated in terms of carbon emissions, renewable utilization, grid exchange, battery operations and operational costs. Comparative scenarios of conventional grid-connected charging, renewable- powered charging and V2G-enabled renewable microgrids are defined to quantify the contribution of each technology to the system performance. The proposed framework provides a systematic basis for assessing the technical and environmental benefits of coordinated V2G operations and their contribution to sustainable and low-carbon electricity systems.

Keywords: Vehicle-to-Grid, Renewable Energy, Electric Vehicles, Carbon Emission Reduction, Energy Management, Sustainable Development, and Smart Grid.