A novel design of photovoltaic-based charging station for battery vehicles with dynamic demand: A case of short runs

Abstract

In this research, a novel design and operation of solar-based charging system for battery vehicle for a 50 km run is proposed. The proposal is aimed at replacing 110 existing diesel vehicles with 39 electric buses. Several operation scenarios for the charging stations are proposed and analyzed. Scenarios include two different battery charging methodologies and one hybrid option between electric buses and diesel vehicles. An energy model of the adapted electric buses is developed first. After that, load demand and needs including number of daily trips, number of passengers per hour, and hourly energy consumption are determined based on the developed model and gathered information. Results show that a 5.7MWp photovoltaic system is required to power this transportation line with a loss of load probability of 5% and a trip cost per passenger of 2.05 USD. The simple payback period of the system is found to be 10 years, which is 40% of the system's lifetime. The amount of CO2 mitigated by the proposed system is estimated as 1,629,387 (kg/year). The social impact of the proposed project is found acceptable; whereas, most of the current employees will keep their jobs with higher salaries by about 145% and less working hours by 50%. Moreover, it is expected that the proposed project will significantly increase the reliability, convenience, and sustainability of the transportation process.