Electric Vehicle Charging Logistics in Spain: An In-Depth Analysis

Abstract

Highlights: What are the main findings? The paradox of fast charging: while fast charging reduces charging times, its high energy intensity poses additional challenges to the grid and may require targeted investments to strengthen certain parts of the electricity infrastructure. Seasonal impact on charging: the number of electric vehicles that can be charged simultaneously is significantly affected by the time of year, due to seasonal variations in electricity demand and renewable energy generation. What are the implications of the main findings? Challenges of fragmented renewable capacity: although wind and solar power generation are steadily increasing, their variability and lack of direct synchronization with EV charging schedules increases the need for intermediate storage or advanced grid management. Synchronization with nighttime demand: the Spanish grid’s ability to support electric vehicle (EV) charging benefits from the significant drop in energy demand at night, creating an optimal window for EV charging without compromising grid stability. Spain’s National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) addresses the policies and measures needed to contribute to the European target of a 23% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. To this end, the decarbonization of the transport sector is very important in order to increase electric mobility. Electric mobility depends on the conditions of the electrical infrastructure. This research focuses on the electrical distribution network in terms of its current capacity for recharging electric vehicles, which are estimated to account for 20.7% of vehicles, which is about 4 million vehicles. This, therefore, illustrates the need to legislate to improve the electrical infrastructure for recharging electric vehicles, with the aim of deploying electric vehicles on a larger scale and, ultimately, allowing society to benefit from the advantages of this technology.