Solar Electric Vehicles as Energy Sources in Disaster Zones: Physical and Social Factors

Abstract

Electric vehicles (EVs) have the advantage of being resilient to natural disasters. However, users hesitate to donate electricity when they lose the chance to recharge at the utility. Solar electric vehicles (SEVs) save energy through vehicle-integrated photovoltaics (VIPV) and make it possible to voluntarily donate excess energy, thus maintaining facility resilience. Given that the supply of solar energy to VIPV systems is not continuous and is difficult to forecast, the contribution of VIPV to the resilience of the larger energy system has been called into question. This is the first study in which the potential of VIPV to maintain utility resilience is investigated in the context of physical factors, such as irradiance, and social factors. The actual energy yield of a VIPV car was determined using an advanced 3D solar irradiation model under a nonuniform shading distribution, with validation from actual measures of solar irradiance on five orthogonal sides of the car body. The Monte Carlo method was used to model the complex factors in VIPV energy storage and energy donations under different scenarios. Depending on the climate, population density, and shading environment, the voluntary contribution of stored electricity in SEV is sufficient to provide disaster relief support.