Integration of Distributed Energy Resources and EV Fast-Charging Infrastructure in High-Speed Railway Systems

Abstract

Low carbon emission transportation is attracting global attention where electric railway power systems (ERPS) and electric vehicles (EVs) act as a load. Besides the main utility grid, renewable energy sources (RES) including photovoltaic (PV) panels and wind turbines are implemented to supply the loads fully or partially. In this paper, a novel smart DC catenary system is proposed in which renewable sources, storage systems, and DC fast-charging stations are connected to the overhead DC catenary line of the high-speed railway power system. The generated power from renewable sources and consumed power by charging stations are processed by their dedicated DC-DC power electronics converters. Furthermore, a storage system is used as a backup system not only for the case of blackouts but also because of the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources to supply the loads continuously. The paper presents an optimal power control for various parts and a power management system (PMS) that manages the power flow from wind-PV-storage system to EV-ERPS system. The proposed system has been investigated using a real Italian Rome-Florence 3 kV high-speed line as a case study with real data of ERPS load. The EV fast-charging station power demand, wind speed, solar irradiance, and temperature were recorded for 24 h in order to provide us with realistic output data. The simulation results obtained by MATLAB/Simulink are presented to validate the effectiveness of the proposed system.