Impact of Medium and Heavy-Duty Electric Vehicle Electrification on Distribution System Stability

Medium and heavy-duty (MHD) commercial vehicles contribute significantly to carbon emissions, accounting for 21% of the total emissions in the transportation sector. To curb this, U.S. government is increasingly focusing on achieving 100% fleet electrification over the next decade. However, the integration of megawatt-scale charging stations designed for MHD vehicles poses challenges to the stability of secondary distribution systems. This study investigates the impact of megawatt-scale charging station loads on a benchmark IEEE 33-bus distribution system using real data from the HEVI-LOAD software for MHD electrification planning developed by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). The results reveal significant violations of per-unit (p.u.) voltage values at various nodes of the distribution system, indicating that substantial upgrades to the distribution infrastructure will be necessary to accommodate the projected MHDEV charging loads and meet electrification targets.