A Reactive Power Compensated Control Scheme for Solar-Assisted EV Fast-Charging Applications

Abstract

The main objective of this work is to develop an efficient reactive power compensated control technique for a fast-charging scheme for electric vehicle(s) (i.e., level-3 charging). The developed charging technique has the four-quadrant power flow operation with the simultaneous assurance of the compensated reactive power control. The developed charging infrastructure scheme involves a solar panel and 3-phase grid to charge the E-mobility. A DC-DC boost converter is used to achieve maximum power tracking (MPPT) of a solar PV array, and a 3-phase grid-tied bidirectional voltage source converter (VSC) is utilized to provide the bulk of power to charge the EV. The 3-phase VSC has multiple functionalities including grid side power quality (PQ) improvement with reactive power compensation, seamless flow of power from the grid to EV, and solar to grid or battery to grid (V2G) operation. This scheme also facilitates tariffs earned by discharging solar energy to the grid with additional benefits of reactive power compensation. An arrangement is also made to tackle grid failure conditions during battery discharging mode by connecting a load for ancillary purposes. The effectiveness of this charging scheme is first examined in MATLAB/Simulink environment and then validated on developed hardware.