Environmental and economic evaluation of urban building-integrated photovoltaic and electric vehicle system

Abstract

Facade photovoltaic (FaPV) panels can significantly enhance the capability of building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems. This study presents a comprehensive analytical framework for optimizing the operation of BIPV and electric vehicle (EV) integrated systems and evaluating their environmental and economic benefits. The Energy-Environmental-Economic (3E) parameters are measured for alternative scenarios, and sensitivity analyses are applied to validate the impacts of changes in major parameters on BIPV-EV system's performance in Xiong'an New Area (XANA). The simulation results demonstrate that BIPV-EV systems can effectively reduce CO2 emissions and electricity costs. Specifically, the installation of FaPV can increase power generation by up to 67.60 % compared to the BIPV system utilizing stand-alone rooftop photovoltaic (RPV). Regarding urban decarbonization, the adoption of BIPV system can reduce CO2 emissions by 41.91 % and 34.99 % in the short- and long-term, respectively. The evaluation of the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) across different scenarios reveal that the configurations of RPV + FaPV (SE)-EV system and RPV + FaPV (SW)-EV system are the most cost-effective options in both the short- and long-term, where BIPV contributes to 48.10 % and 31.90 % of the total electricity generation, respectively. In terms of EV power consumption, the BIPV-EV system can decrease the grid sell ratio by 15.38 % compared to the stand-alone BIPV scenario. Compared to the BIPV system with typical RPV, the appropriate utilization of FaPV can significantly increase the potential of a BIPV system and mitigate the additional electricity demand for EVs. For cities with nascent BIPV and EV markets, the proposed framework can be a strategic tool for urban planners to design BIPV-EV systems, with the objective of enhancing sustainability and energy efficiency.