Techno-economic feasibility of a photovoltaic-equipped plug-in electric vehicle public parking lot with coordinated charging

Abstract

Electrification of transport and the deployment of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) shift emissions from tail-pipes to bulk power systems (BPSs). Coordinated distributed energy resources and PEV charging can mitigate the impact of this shift. This study presents an analysis of photovoltaic (PV) solar parking lots that address this benefit. Real-world charging data, solar data, and electricity tariffs are used to determine the microgrid system that minimises the cost of retrofitting an existing parking lot with PV and PEV infrastructure coupled. The result is a load scheduling algorithm that takes into account tariffs and insolation to reduce costs while ensuring customer satisfaction. The techno-economic feasibility of PV infrastructure in the microgrid is determined by minimising the net present cost (NPC) in two case studies: Victoria, BC, and Los Angeles, CA. Relatively low solar irradiation and electricity prices make it economically infeasible to install solar panels in Victoria even though the operational costs are reduced by 11%. In Los Angeles, high time-of-use prices, together with abundant solar radiation, make PV retrofitting economically feasible with any array capacity. At the current solar infrastructure price, coordinated charging in this region yields 8–16% savings on NPC and smaller feeder size requirements with greater load growth opportunities.