Reviews on Grid-Connected Inverter, Utility-Scaled

Battery Energy Storage System, and Vehicle-to-Grid

Application – Challenges and Opportunities
Wooyoung Choi, Yujiang Wu, Di Han, Joseph Gorman, Pablo Castro Palavicino, Woongkul Lee, Student Member, IEEE,
Bulent Sarlioglu, Senior Member, IEEE
Wisconsin Electric Machines and Power Electronics Consortium (WEMPEC)
Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, WI 53706 USA
sarlioglu@wisc.edu

the requirements in grid connection and adapting different

Abstract—The purpose of this paper is to review three emerging
technologies for grid-connected distributed energy resource in
the power system: grid-connected inverters (GCIs), utility-scaled
battery energy storage systems (BESSs), and vehicle-to-grid
(V2G) application. The overview of GCIs focuses on topologies
and functions. Different functions of utility-scaled BESS are
introduced and a comprehensive review is provided for
currently operating BESSs that are interconnected at the
distribution level. Possible grid support functions of utility-
scaled BESS are presented. This paper also presents the current
electro-chemical based ESSs in the U.S. with different grid
support functions. The V2G technology is introduced focusing
on benefits for grid support. The state-of-the-art of GCI, BESS,
and V2G technologies presents many opportunities and
challenges that need to be addressed in the future.
Index Terms— Distributed energy resource, distributed
generation, grid-connected inverter, inverter topology, energy
storage system, utility-scaled battery energy storage system,
vehicle-to-grid.
I. INTRODUCTION
In accordance with the efforts to reduce CO2 emission and
reduce the dependence on fossil fuels for energy generation, a
variety of renewable energy resources are penetrating more
into the power grid. The amount of energy produced by
renewable sources is 2970 TWh in the U.S., which takes 12 %
out of energy production by primary sources in 2016 [1]. It is
also expected that the capacity of wind energy and total
utility-scale solar generation will reach to 95 GW and 31 GW,
respectively by 2018. This increasing energy production from
renewable energy resources introduces a change from
centralized to distributed generation (DG) system.
In the literature, it has been reported that the various
distributed energy resources (DERs) are being integrated more
into the power system [2]. Therefore, the role of grid-
connected inverters (GCIs) is becoming more important for
not only high efficient power conversion, but also satisfying
characteristics of DERs.
Furthermore, problems on voltage stability, power quality,
harmonics, protection, and reliability are raised when
integrating DERs in DG systems [3, 4]. Intermittent and
unpredictable characteristics of solar and wind-based
generation provoke a stability issue of the grid as well. As a
result, energy storage systems (ESSs) are increasingly
becoming important in energy distribution. A cumulative
operational capability of energy storage in the U.S. is 24.6
GW in 2013. Among them, 26% of ESS is battery ESS
(BESS), of which primary applications are power quality and
frequency regulation [5]. Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) is one of the
potential BESS in the future. The V2G is capable of
supporting the grid with stored energy of the battery in electric
vehicles (EVs). However, despite the increased importance,
the state-of-the-art of the GCI, BESS, and V2G is not fully
addressed in the literature.
This paper presents an overview of GCI, utility-scale
BESS, and V2G technology while introducing current
challenges they face as well as opportunities for improvement.
Different topologies of GCIs are introduced with benefits and
drawbacks. Functions of GCIs are classified into the basic,
application-based, and grid-support functions. Grid support
functions of utility-scale BESS are presented including
frequency regulation, peak shaving, capacity firming,
spinning reserve, load leveling, and power quality. Currently
operating utility-scale BESS are shown in terms of capacity,
grid interconnection type, and grid support functions. Lastly,
the state-of-the-art of V2G application is presented. Based on
the overviews on GCI, BESS, and V2G, challenges and
opportunities are addressed as well.
II. GRID-CONNECTED INVERTERS
The performance of GCIs including power conversion
efficiency and size of converters are highly dependent on
topologies of GCIs. Also, GCIs are required to have more

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capabilities on top of their basic functions, which are
capabilities of power control, current control, and grid
synchronizations, in order to protect connected resources or
adapt to the grid disturbances, as the grid is getting more
complex and dynamic. This section focuses on the state-of-
the-art of GCIs, covering topologies and functions while
addressing challenges and future opportunities.
A. Topologies of Grid-Connected Inverters
A wide variety of topologies exist for GCIs as illustrated in
Fig. 1. From the impedance point of view, the inverter
topologies can be characterized by voltage-source (buck) type,
current-source (boost) type, and Z-source (buck-boost) type.
From the perspective of operating principle, they can be
further divided into hard-switched and soft-switched
topologies. Other classifications include two-level and multi-
level, interleaved and un-interleaved, etc.
Presently, the hard-switched voltage source inverters (VSI)
are the dominant topologies in grid applications [6-8]. In low
voltage grids, two-level B6 topology shown in Fig. 2 is most
widely used due to its simplicity and high reliability. Only six
switches are needed in a B6 inverter, and the corresponding
modulation strategies are also simple and easy to understand
[9]. However, B6 also has drawbacks such as low control
flexibility, limited rating, and high switching loss. For
medium and high voltage grids, multiple switching devices are
connected in series in two-level inverters but they tend to
suffer from high switching losses, high di/dt, and harmonics.
A bulky DC link capacitor and large AC-side filter can also be
problematic.
Fig. 1. Classification of grid connected inverter topologies.
(a)
(c)
Fig. 3. Popular multi-level topologies: (a) neutral point clamped (NPC); (b) T-type; (c) capacitor clamped (flying capacitor); (d) cascaded H bridge.
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To overcome these issues in the conventional two-level
inverter, multi-level VSIs are introduced. Four types of
popular multi-level topologies are shown in Fig. 3 [10-12]. As
can be seen, with an increase in the number of switches, the
voltage rating of each switch in a multi-level inverter
decreases. Thus, higher performance and cheaper devices can
be used. Also, due to the increased voltage levels and the high
equivalent switching frequency of multi-level topologies, the
total harmonic distortion of the output voltage and current
waveforms significantly decreases, resulting in a smaller and
cheaper output filter. However, the complexity in the
modulation and control of the multi-level inverter also
increase with the number of levels [13-15]. The characteristics
of each multilevel inverter type are summarized in TABLE I.
When the DC source voltage changes widely during
normal operation, Z-source inverters are also used to achieve
both buck and boost operation. The schematic of a Z-source
inverter is shown in Fig. 4 [16]. Apart from the ability to buck
and boost, Z-source inverters are also immune to the shoot-
through and open-circuit faults, and have smaller input filter
size than the voltage- and current source inverters.
Other inverter topologies such as current source or soft-
switching inverters are also occasionally used in grid
applications, but are less common.
B. Functions of Grid-Connected Inverters
Functions of GCIs are diverse according to the application,
utility grid connection type, and DERs and different control
schemes are applied to achieve different objectives of
Fig. 2. Two level VSI (B6) topology.
(b)
(d)
 TABLE I. SUMMARY OF MULTILEVEL INVERTERS
Inverter Type NPC FC CHB MMC
* 4(n-1) – full-bridge
Number of power switches 2(n-1) 2(n-1) 2(n-1)
2(n-1) – half-bridge
* 4(n-1) – full-bridge
Main switching diodes 2(n-1) 2(n-1) 2(n-1)
2(n-1) – half-bridge
*
Number of clamping diodes (n-1)(n-2) 0 0 0
Number of DC bus
* (n-1) (n-1) 0 0
capacitor
Number of balancing
* 0 (n-1)(n-2)/2 (n-1)/2 (n-1)/2
capacitors
Arm inductor 0 0 0 2
Voltage quality Medium Medium High High
DC-link voltage balance Difficult Difficult Isolated DC source Possible
Modularity Low High High High
Control complexity Low High High High
Voltage balancing, Voltage setup
Control concern Power sharing Yes
Loss distribution (pre-charge)
Fault tolerance No No Yes Yes
Motor drive, PV, fuel cells, Motor drive, HVDC, wind
Applications Motor drive, STATCOM Motor drive, STATCOM
battery system turbine
* per phase leg

Fig. 4. Z-source inverter.
functions. Functions of GCIs can be classified into three
categories: basic functions, application-based functions, and
grid support functions as shown in Fig. 5.
1) Basic functions
Regardless of application and ancillary functions of GCIs,
almost all GCIs are required to have basic functions:
capabilities of grid synchronization, DC voltage control, and
grid current control. These functions are corresponding to the
fundamental roles of GCIs as grid-feeding units to convert
power produced by DERs to AC power at unity power factor.
Grid synchronization includes a detection of three-phase
utility grid voltage at the point of common coupling. A phase
locked loop (PLL) with the internal oscillator is commonly
used technique for grid synchronization to detect grid
frequency and phase angle. Advanced PLL technique such as
dual second order generalized integrator frequency locked
loop can be used under non-ideal grid condition with positive
sequence component extraction [17]. DC voltage control is to
regulate DC link voltage variation caused by a variation of
average power exchanged and oscillation of instantaneous
power due to the grid disturbance. The capability of grid
current control is necessary when GCIs operate as grid-
feeding units to fulfill grid requirements on the
interconnection of distributed generation set by regulations.
According to IEEE 1547 [18], total demand distortion of
injected current should be less than 5 %.
2) Application-based functions
The secondary level of GCI functions can be application-
oriented functions. On top of basic functions, GCIs have
different control algorithm according to different applications.
In this paper, functions for photovoltaic (PV) system, wind
turbine system, ESS, and microgrid are presented. First, for
PV system application, functions of GCIs include maximum
power point tracking (MPPT) algorithms that improve the
efficiency of the PV system by extracting the maximum power
from PV sources during steady state, rapid irradiation changes,
or at any irradiation levels. Also, the anti-islanding function is
required to trip off and protect devices in case of grid faults.
Grid monitoring function is fast detection capability of grid
voltage and frequency for passive anti-islanding. PV plant
monitoring feature exists for partial shading detection and
diagnosis of PV panel.
In wind turbine system, the capability of power control of
the generator-side converter is required for power
maximization and limitation functions. Grid-side inverters for
large-scaled wind turbine system that is more than 1MW are
normally required to have fault ride through (FRT), also called
low voltage ride through (LVRT), a capability to be on-line
when the grid disturbance event such as voltage sag occurs
[19].
The capability of bidirectional power flow should be
achieved for ESS application. GCIs for ESS application have
capabilities of charging and discharging by using either
voltage mode control or current mode control. Additional
functions for grid supporting features are required for utility-
scaled ESS, such as high and low voltage ride through,
dynamic power control, dynamic reactive power control, and
virtual generator control mode providing grid stabilization via
synthetic inertia and active damping. These functions are
applied to different ESS applications: load shifting, peak
power shaving, power smoothing, islanding, UPS, ancillary
service, and static synchronous compensator (STATCOM).

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 Fig. 5. Categorization of various functions of grid-connected inverters into basic, application-oriented, and grid support functions.
The GCIs in microgrid application are classified into three
units: grid-feeding, grid-forming, and grid-supporting units
according to the operation mode of the microgrid. Functions
of grid-feeding units are similar to basic functions that almost
all GCIs have. As microgrid has islanding operation mode,
GCI should provide a grid-forming function with the
capability of AC voltage control to achieve coordinated power
management and provide energy to loads when microgrid is
islanded. This power sharing feature can be implemented
using droop control.
3) Grid support functions
Previous functions explained are passive to grid
disturbance, meaning that GCIs ride through the disturbance
and do not compensate in an active way. GCIs can have grid
support functions to provide compensation and regulation for
the utility grid regardless of a type of DERs connected.
Particularly, GCIs utilized for power quality improvement of
the grid are defined as multi-functional GCIs (MFGCIs),
which are a combination of conventional GCI and power
quality conditioning device. MFGCIs have a variety of
functions for different grid disturbance and are capable of
acting as STATCOM, unified power quality conditioner, and
active filter. Grid supporting functions of GCIs include load
voltage compensation, reactive power compensation, voltage
Fig. 6. Challenges and opportunities in grid connected inverter design.
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and frequency compensation, harmonic compensation,
voltage-based power quality problem mitigation, and current-
based power quality problem mitigation.
C. Challenges and Opportunities of Grid-Connected
Inverters
There has been rapidly growing interest in high
performance and affordable GCIs to meet the increasing
demands of DG systems. Fig. 6 illustrates the four important
criteria that should be considered in the design of GCIs: power
density, performance, cost, and VA rating. It is favorable to
have compact and light-weighted GCIs as far as the packaging
and installation are concerned. In general, the high switching
frequency operation can significantly reduce the size of bulky
passive components, but the downside is the increased
switching losses and additional cooling. Soft-switching
inverters such as resonant pole or resonant AC/DC link
inverters can be an amenable solution at the cost of the
increased control and inverter design complexity. The wide
bandgap power switching devices such as gallium nitride
(GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC) can also be used to increase
the switching frequency while not compromising the overall
efficiency of the GCIs due to their fast switching speed and
lower on-state resistance. Filters can be reduced by resorting
into high switching capabilities of wide bandgap devices.
 Considering the performance of the GCIs, the overall
power quality such as harmonics, EMI, and controller
dynamics are becoming more critical as the increasing number
of inverters connected to the power grid. The conventional
ways of improving power quality are to implement an
additional EMI filters or to utilize a modulation technique
such as selective harmonic elimination. It is also possible to
use multilevel inverters, which can significantly reduce
harmonics even at relatively low frequency operation.
The cost of the overall GCIs is essential to increase the
penetration of DG system. For example, the cost of the GCI
can be around 7% of overall system costs of PV or wind
turbine [20]. The price of the conventional silicon (Si) based
switching devices such as MOSFETs and IGBTs are
continuously decreasing as the manufacturing technology
improves and the market grows. It should also be noted that
the use of smaller passive components can reduce the overall
system costs as well. Although the use of high performance
switching devices such as GaN and SiC can be more
expensive than the conventional Si devices, it can be
compensated from the smaller passive components and
reduced cooling components and footprint of the overall
inverter.
The needs for the high VA rating GCIs are continuously
increasing as the size of the overall DG increases. The high
VA rating GCIs can be achieved either by paralleling or series
connecting the conventional switching devices. It is also
possible to utilize the high-power rating SiC or GaN devices,
which are available in over 10 kV range.
Functions of commercialized GCIs are limited to the basic
and application-based functions. GCIs need to have more
functions including grid support feature as diverse grid
disturbances occur more frequently caused by high penetration
of DERs. When MFGCIs function to improve power quality,
its capabilities are insufficient to mitigate severe power quality
problem due to the limited capacity of GCI. Therefore,
advanced topology and improved control algorithm need to be
investigated to enhance dynamic performance of MFGCI. Soft
switching techniques can be considered to decrease switching
losses. Lastly, the effect of grid condition or disturbance on
the performance of GCIs should be considered in the design
process of GCIs based on the understanding of electric power
system where GCIs are connected.
III. UTILITY-SCALED BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM
A BESS is becoming dominant among different types of
ESSs for the purpose of grid support due to its benefits such as
flexibility in location for installation and in construction
period, and its fast response time. There are studies dealing
with different aspects of utility-scaled BESS on energy
management [21], battery management system (BMS) [22],
control strategies [23], life cycle cost [24], and application on
microgrid [25]. This section introduces different functions of
utility-scaled BESS for grid support and currently operating
utility-scaled BESS.
A. Functions of Utility-Scaled BESS for Grid Support
There are a variety of functions of the BESS in power
system operations: integration renewable smoothing
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intermittent, ramping and load following, time shifting, peak
shaving, load leveling, low voltage ride-through, transmission
and distribution stability, black-start, voltage regulation,
grid/network fluctuation suppression, spinning reserve,
uninterruptible power supply, transmission upgrade deferral,
standing reserve, and etc. [26-28].
1) Frequency and voltage regulation
A BESS can absorb real power when the grid frequency
increases beyond pre-defined upper-frequency threshold,
whereas it injects real power when grid frequency drops below
the lower frequency threshold. Thus, it can serve to stabilize
the frequency of the grid. BESS can contribute to voltage
regulation as the similar way of frequency regulation.
2) Smoothing intermittency of renewable generation
The rapid development of renewable energy resources has
raised new challenges because of their inherent intermittency
nature. The BESS is regarded as one of the possible solutions
to overcome this issue due to its capability of storing energy.
References in [21, 23, 29] present the uses of BESS with the
conditions of wind or PV fluctuations.
3) Peak shaving and load leveling
BESS serves as an energy buffer, which solves the
incompatibility between scheduled generation and the real-
time power demand. If the scheduled generation fails to meet
the load demand, BESS can discharge to shave peak demand.
If the scheduled generation goes beyond the real-time load
demand, BESS can store this amount of over-generation. ESS
enables load demand profile to be shaved to be in accordance
with the scheduled generation curve. Load leveling is very
similar to peak shaving and they both require BESS to charge
when load demand is low, and to discharge during peak load.
The difference is that peak shaving is mainly focusing on
flatting the load peak while load leveling is trying to flat the
entire load profile.
4) Power quality improvement
The characteristic of BESS is favorable in power quality
improvement of the power system when it applies to FACTS
and STATCOM devices. BESS can be the source of power
quality improvement devices to maintain the voltage within
allowable ranges. It can have capabilities to mitigate
unbalance and harmonics issues and compensate reactive
power of the system.
5) Spinning reserves
Spinning reserve refers to those generators that are
spinning and connected to the grid so that it can respond to the
operator much faster than those generators that are not on-line
and not spinning. BESS can response faster than conventional
generators, which are slow for grid synchronization due to
startup issues. When generation in transmission level has a
failure, the BESS can provide its full capacity extremely
quickly (within minutes) to bring the frequency of the grid
back into normal level until the failure is fixed.
B. Currently Operating Utility-Scaled BESS Projects
There are 136 electro-chemical based ESSs currently
operating in the U.S. connected to transmission and
distribution levels [30]. Among then, 22 of ESS are
interconnected to the transmission level and capacity range is C. Challenges and Opportunities of Utility-Scaled BESS
from 250 kWh to maximum 80 MWh. 33 and 81 of ESSs are Challenges that prevent widespread implementation of
connected into the primary and secondary distribution level, BESS in the utility include a lack of regulation, cost
respectively. TABLE II shows several of currently operating competitiveness, technologies, and safety concerns.
electro-chemical based ESS projects in the U.S., which are
integrated into distribution level. The ESSs interconnected in A unified standard to calculate the economic value and
the primary distribution level have higher capacity than the measure saving and incentives of BESS is needed. Also,
ones integrated into the secondary distribution level. The market and regulation mechanisms of BESS should be
largest capacities of ESSs interconnected in primary and determined. The BESS needs to have competitive price
secondary distribution level are 28,000 and 6,500 kWh, compared to other types of ESS with considerations of capital,
respectively, and their battery types are both sodium-sulfur. operating, and maintenance costs. Moreover, according to
Services for grid support offered by ESSs in distribution level stakeholder input, there is still a concern on the lifetime of the
are electric bill management, electric energy time shift, and batteries. The inability of predicting battery life accurately can
renewable capacity firming. The ESSs with renewable energy impose a barrier in the process of planning for BESS
time shift and onsite renewable generation shifting are paired implementation. The utility-scale BESS consists of series
with grid resources, especially solar PV generation. Also, and/or parallel connection of many battery packs with the
some of the ESSs provide the ancillary services including power rating of a few hundred kilowatts [31]. In that way,
frequency and voltage regulation. charge imbalance between unregulated parallel-connected
battery packs can cause high circulating currents among the
TABLE II. CURRENT OPERATING BESS PROJECTS IN THE U.S. INTEGRATED INTO DISTRIBUTION LEVEL
Connection

Duration

Capacity
Rating

[kWh]
Power

Battery Paired Grid Grid Support ISO

[kW]
Grid

Project Name Utility

Type Resource Functions /RTO

Electric energy time shift, frequency

PG&E Yerba Buena
Sodium- regulation, grid-connected commercial
Battery Energy Storage 4000 7.0 28000 - CAISO PG&E
sulfur (reliability & quality)
Pilot Project on-site power, renewables capacity firming
Kauai Island
KIUC Anahola Solar Lithium- 12 MW PV Onsite renewable generation shifting,
Primary distribution

6000 0.83 4980 N/A Utility

Array and Battery ion Array renewables capacity firming
Cooperative
Willey Energy Storage Lithium-
6000 0.33 1980 - Frequency regulation PJM
Project ion
DTE Community Energy Electric bill management with renewables,
Storage for Grid Support - Lithium- 500 kW Solar onsite renewable generation shifting, Detroit Edison
500 0.50 250 MISO
Monroe Community ion Array renewables capacity firming, voltage Energy
College CES Unit support
UCSD - Maxwell Electro-
Frequency regulation, ramping, renewables UC San Diego
Technologies chemical 28 0.8 22.4 Soitec CPV CAISO
capacity firming, voltage support Microgrid
Ultracapacitor Bank Capacitor
New York
Black start, electric bill management,
Sodium- Power
Long Island Bus BESS 1000 6.50 6500 - electric energy time shift, spinning reserve, NYISO
sulfur transmission congestion relief
Authority
(NYPA)
Lithium Electric bill management, electric energy
Santa Rita Jail Smart Grid Smart grid -
Iron time shift, spinning reserve, onsite
- Alameda County RDSI wind, solar PV,
Phosphate 2000 2.0 4000 renewable generation shifting, renewable CAISO PG&E
CERTS Microgrid fuel cell, diesel energy time shift, stationary T/D upgrade
Lithium-
Demonstration generators deferral
ion
Secondary distribution

Electric bill management with renewables,

Green
Stafford Hill Solar Farm & microgrid capability, onsite renewable ISO-
Lead-acid 2000 1.20 2400 2MW PV Mountain
Microgrid: Lead Acid generation shifting, renewable capacity NE
firming, resiliency Power
Lead
Axion PowerCube for
Carbon 500 0.50 250 - Frequency regulation PJM Penn Power
PJM
Lead-acid
Public Utility
Electric energy time shift, renewables
Benton PUD Battery District No. 1
Lead-acid 10 4.0 40 Wind Turbines capacity firming, renewable energy time N/A
Energy Storage shift
of Benton
County
Gardner Community Electric bill management with renewables,
Center Grid Resiliency Lithium- grid-connected commercial (reliability &
6 1.50 9 Rooftop PV CAISO PG&E
with JuiceBox Energy ion quality), renewable energy time shift,
Storage System resiliency

208
battery packs. State of charging (SoC) incompatibility
between the directly stacked battery cells can limit the energy
that can be taken from and returned to the battery. The
overcharge and undercharge of different commercial batteries
are intensively investigated [32-34]. Regarding safety, there
are few investigations on the impact of system failure of BESS
on the grid. Robustness analysis, protection methods, battery
SoC management, battery charging control and reliable end of
charging detection methods, and battery recycle methods are
significantly crucial to guarantee the safety operation of the
utility-scaled BESS.
IV. VEHICLE-TO-GRID APPLICATION
This section presents the brief introduction of V2G
technology. A V2G system is defined as a system in which
there is the capability of controllable, bi-directional electrical
energy flow between EVs and the power grid.
A. Benefits of V2G
The benefit of V2G is that the battery in EVs can provide
services such as frequency regulation, spinning reserves, non-
spinning reserves, peak load reduction, valley filling, reactive
power compensation, and a capability to shift renewable
generation [35, 36]. Spinning reserve is the on-line reserve
capacity that is synchronized to the grid system and ready to
meet electric demand within 10 minutes of a dispatch
instruction by ISO. The non-spinning reserve is off-line
generation capacity that can be ramped to capacity and
capable of maintaining that output for at least two hours [37].
Reference [38] describes the control algorithm of V2G system
for peak shaving and valley filling applications. Peak shaving
is studied in households with V2G-enable EVs and PV
generation [39]. In [40, 41], V2G is used for reactive power
compensation. V2G is also integrated with renewable energy
generations into the distributed system, and the system is
optimized to minimize operating cost in [42]. In [43], a plug-
in hybrid EV with V2G capability with wind power generation
is reported. The batteries of EVs also can be the source of the
power quality conditioning devices. In [44], on-board battery
charger has a function of an active power filter. Reference [45]
proposes to use V2G-enable EVs as unified power quality
conditioner.
The estimation of power capacity in V2G applications
should be addressed. A key factor is to estimate how much
power capacities could be obtained from the EVs to achieve
the feature of power quality improvement. In [46], a complete
study on using V2G technology for the frequency regulation
as well as case study of the market participation is done. To
effectively utilize the capability of V2G, optimal charging is
also important to be considered. There are studies on optimal
charging coordination in [47-49].
B. Challenges and Opportunities of V2G
The challenges on a broad adaptation of V2G technology
can be divided into two categories: technical, and non-
technical challenges. One of the major non-technical
challenges is a matter of compromise between different
stakeholders rather than technology. There is still on-going
discussion between EV manufacturers, the utilities, and end-
users on the market regulation and coordination.
209
Technical challenges can be further categorized according
to different components. The control and communication
technologies between V2G-enable EVs and grid operator are
needed. Also, intelligent metering technology is one of the
essential technologies for further implementations of V2G.
V2G telematics is important as well to transfer data reliably
and wirelessly over a long distance. The improvement of
reliability needs the improved techniques on noise separation
using sensor technology, an ability of EMI immunity during
the transmission, and communication protocol to avoid
transferring bus congestion and other related data transfer
issues. The challenge regarding BMS is about how to
accurately estimate SoC of the battery and interpret this data
to give accurate mileage estimation. The impact of frequent
charging and discharging of EVs in V2G application on the
life of the battery is also not well understood, which makes it
difficult to properly structure the battery warranty and the
compensation model for vehicle owners.
V. CONCLUSION
This paper presents a comprehensive understanding of
GCI, utility-scale BESS, and V2G technology. Regarding
GCIs, a variety of adaptable topologies for GCIs are presented
considering their benefits and challenges. Basic, application-
based, and grid support functions of GCIs are introduced. The
implementation status of utility-scaled BESSs at the
distribution level is tabulated addressing the different services
as grid supporting functions. The state-of-the-art of V2G
technologies with different are presented. Challenges and
opportunities on GCIs, BESSs, and V2G are addressed.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This research has been funded in part by the DOE Sunshot
Initiative under award DE-0006341.
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