Enhancing distribution system performance by optimizing electric vehicle charging station integration in smart grids using the honey badger algorithm.

The global surge in electric vehicle (EV) adoption has driven significant research into electric vehicle charging stations (EVCS) due to their environmentally friendly attributes, including low CO₂ emissions. However, integrating EVCS into existing distribution grids presents challenges such as power losses and voltage instability, especially with the increasing incorporation of renewable distributed generation (RDG) sources and battery energy storage systems (BESS). This study introduces a novel honey badger optimization algorithm (HBOA), designed to enhance solution convergence and optimize multi-objective criteria efficiently. HBOA strategically places EVCS while considering vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capabilities and user driving behaviors over a full 24-hour cycle, effectively addressing uncertainties and dynamic conditions. Simulations on modified IEEE 69-bus and Indian 28-bus radial distribution systems (RDS) demonstrate significant results: in the IEEE 69-bus system, power loss is reduced by 62.0%, the voltage stability index (VSI) increases from 0.7139 to 0.8311, and CO₂ emissions decrease by 66.0%. In the Indian 28-bus system, power loss decreases by 55.5%, with VSI improving from 0.7394 to 0.9964, leading to a 50.0% reduction in CO₂ emissions. The proposed smart microgrid (MG) structure incorporates interconnected MGs for residential, commercial, and industrial sectors, emphasizing the efficacy of RDGs in mitigating the impact of EVCS on RDS. The advantages of the HBOA method lie in its superior optimization capabilities, which enhance system performance, reduce operational costs, and promote sustainability, highlighting the proposed methodology's potential for future integration of EVCS in distribution networks.