Market-Aware Cost Optimal Operation of Renewable Energy Communities with Mobile Charging Stations

Abstract

Renewable energy communities (RECs) offer a flexible structure for coordinating distributed energy resources; however, electric vehicle (EV) charging adds operational complexity due to time-varying demand and electricity prices. This paper proposes a market-aware optimization framework for the cost-optimal operation of RECs with mobile charging stations (MCSs), which are modelled as controllable, flexible charging assets. The proposed model jointly optimizes community energy exchange, grid transactions, and MCS charging/discharging schedules over a time-coupled horizon to minimize total REC operating cost. The framework is evaluated under three configurations: conventional fixed charging under time-of-use (ToU) pricing, MCS scheduling under flat pricing, and market-aware MCS scheduling under ToU pricing. Simulation results show that the proposed market-aware MCS strategy reduces total operating cost by 21.9% compared with the fixed-charging benchmark and by 15.6% compared with flat-price MCS scheduling. The findings demonstrate that MCS flexibility can improve price-responsive EV charging coordination and enhance the economic operation of RECs.