An Integrated Transportation Network and Power Grid Simulation Approach for Assessing Environmental Impact of Electric Vehicles

TL;DR

The paper addresses the challenge of quantifying the environmental impact of vehicle electrification by integrating transportation and power-grid analyses to capture cross-sector interactions. It develops a framework that combines TEMPO-based EV operation and charging modeling, DynusT-based traffic trajectories, a Bayesian Network BEV energy model, and OPF-based grid dispatch with GREET and MOVES-Matrix emission calculations, applied to a Travis County, Texas case with sensitivity analyses across weather, generation mix, penetration, and charging strategies. The results show that higher EV penetration can reduce total CO2 and NOx at the regional level, with EGU emissions remaining a small fraction due to grid decarbonization trends; charging strategy and grid fuel mix play crucial roles in emission outcomes. The work provides a scalable regional tool for planners to evaluate emission trade-offs, informs policies on charging load management, and emphasizes the importance of accelerating grid decarbonization to maximize EV environmental benefits.

Abstract

This study develops an integrated approach that includes EV charging and power generation to assess the complex cross-sector interactions of vehicle electrification and its environmental impact. The charging load from on-road EV operation is developed based on a regional-level transportation simulation and charging behavior simulation, considering different EV penetration levels, congestion levels, and charging strategies. The emissions from EGUs are estimated from a dispatch study in a power grid simulation using the charging load as a major input. A case study of Austin, Texas is performed to quantify the environmental impact of EV adoption on both on-road and EGU emission sources at the regional level. The results demonstrate the range of emission impact under a combination of factors.

Figures (10)

• Figure 1: The workflow of the integrated transportation network and power grid simulation
• Figure 2: BEV models verification results
• Figure 3: Travis County synthetic grid system 32
• Figure 4: Depiction of transmission substations (dots) and transportation segments (lines) which fall into each substation’s service area, colored by substation service area.
• Figure 5: Baseline electricity load profiles and dispatch results