Leveraging Location-Unconstrained Vehicle to Grid to Reduce Energy Community Costs

In conventional Energy Communities, electric vehicles (EVs) are primarily used as stationary energy storage, underutilizing their potential as mobile energy transporters. This limits the flexibility and optimization of energy distribution, particularly in fluctuating energy prices and renewable generation. This paper considers Location-Unconstrained Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G), where EVs serve as mobile storage units that can provide V2G services at multiple locations and times. By leveraging the mobility of private EVs, this approach enables energy transport across different locations, optimizing energy distribution based on real-time conditions such as energy prices, bidirectional charger availability, and PV generation. This strategy is used to create Flexible Energy Communities (FlexECs), which differ from conventional Energy Communities by enabling EVs to act as mobile energy transporters. In FlexECs, the mobility of EVs enhances system flexibility, enabling more dynamic and efficient energy management across multiple locations. This study accounts for battery ageing in Location-Unconstrained V2G and seasonal fluctuations in energy demand and prices, demonstrating their impact on energy redistribution and V2G potential throughout the year. A mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) optimization model manages the charging of EVs in a FlexEC consisting of residential and workplace locations. This research highlights the role of EVs as mobile energy transporters, enabling flexible energy management in distributed energy systems.