Self-sufficient solar power and electric vehicle penetration: A case study of New York State

Abstract

While the number of electric vehicles (EVs) on roads is growing steadily, the lack of charging points availability is a critical worldwide issue in the EVs market. In the USA, traveling within and across different states without sufficient charging points is a major concern for millions of American drivers. In this paper, an innovative solution is developed to address this issue by utilizing existing gas stations for two purposes: i) installing rooftop photovoltaic (PV) solar systems, and ii) deploying the location of these stations as charging points. First, real data has been collected from 109 stations as a sample of 4,696 total stations in New York State (NYS). Then, a comprehensive feasibility study is simulated as a case study. After that, this study is generalized to include all gas stations in NYS. The results show that all gas stations can produce 522 GWh/year and the payback period is between 2.7 and 6.9 years. Consequently, a total of 373,527 tons/year of carbon dioxide is avoidable. Four scenarios are conducted based on battery and incentive combinations. The outcomes of this study confirm that the proposed approach is feasible and yields tangible financial benefits, where the net profit income within 25 years of the program is between 1.13 and 1.39 billion dollars.