A Review of Plug-in Electric Vehicles as Distributed Energy Storages in Smart Grid

The growing regulatory environment and security concerns about fossil fuels are driving the research and development of new technologies that can contribute significantly to sustainable and resilient urban energy systems. Plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) is just one of those new technologies that meet current and future environmental and economic challenges of transportation. By charging from the electric power grid or renewables, aggregated PEVs can be deployed as dynamically configurable distributed energy storages (DESs) to supply additional power to home appliances, buildings, or the electric power grid when necessary. This growing PEV penetration coupled with the increasing consumers' interaction with market operations are paving the way for decentralized electric power systems that promise to be efficient, reliable, flexible, economic, and environmentally friendly. This study surveys and summarizes the latest progress and advancement of PEVs, especially as mobile DESs in the areas of technologies, market development, policy, system impact and operations, and relevant pairing infrastructures in smart grid environment.