Planning and design of suitable sites for electric vehicle charging station– a case study

Abstract

Owing to degrading environmental conditions, replacement of pollution causing outdated conventional fuel cars by eco-friendly Electric Vehicles (EVs) is one of the many steps taken for improvement. There are many reasons why people are reluctant to adopt EVs. Lack of proper EV Charging Stations (EVCS) at optimum intervals just like fuel pumps for conventional cars is a major cause. In this study, different criteria from multidimensional aspects including technical, environmental, economic, and social factors affecting the construction of an EVCS were taken up. Using an integrated moduleFuzzy–Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and Quality Function Deployment (QFD) analysis the selected location for possible construction of an EVCS was adjudged. To showcase the results the authors adopted a Quantum Geographical Information System (Q-GIS) based approach. The results obtained after TOPSIS were further checked using a benchmark Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) approach to check for its validity. The methodology module proposed in this study can be adopted in any such study aiming at a similar purpose.