Economic and environmental impacts of a PV powered workplace parking garage charging station

Abstract

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and electric vehicles (EVs) have high potential for reducing fuel consumption and emissions, and for providing a way to utilize renewable energy sources for the transportation sector. On the other hand, charging millions of PEVs could overload the power grid, increase emissions and significantly alter economic characteristics. A day-time photovoltaic (PV) based, plug-in electric vehicle charging station located in a workplace parking garage is considered in this research. The results show the impact of PV based workplace charging on the economics and emissions from the power grid. An optimal charge scheduling strategy is compared with an uncontrolled charging case to perform the economics and emissions analysis. Two locations (Columbus, OH and Los Angeles, CA) are selected such that the analysis includes different scenarios of yearly variation of solar radiation and finance structure. A high fidelity hourly simulation model for energy economic analysis is developed considering different types of vehicles, statistical data for driving distances, parking time, installation cost, tax rebates and incentives. An incremental parking rate for accessing the charging facility is considered for economic analysis for the garage owner and the vehicle owner. The analysis is extended to consider the impact of carbon tax implementation on the driver economics and shows the feasibility of such PV based charging stations. Parametric analysis for different parking rates and installed capacities show (i) the feasibility of a PV based workplace charging facility, (ii) benefits to the vehicle owner and the garage owner, and (iii) the need for an optimal charging controller.