Integration of a Pilot PV Parking Lot and an Electric Vehicle in a University Campus Located in Curitiba: a Study Case

Abstract

Considering the increasing adoption of Hybrid Plug-in and Electric Cars, there are concerns about recharging process of these vehicles considering the capacity of grid to provide sufficient energy to that purpose. In the past years, the growth of distributed energy generation from renewable and clean energy sources, especially photovoltaics, represents a possible and feasible solution to supply the energy used on recharging electric vehicles and reduction of greenhouse emission gases as CO2. This article is a study case that analyzes the energy production of a solar carport, located at Federal Technological University of Paraná (UTFPR) at Neoville Campus, comparing with energy consumption of a commercial electric car for a city use purpose. Based on solar energy generation, data from the web monitoring platform, real positioning characteristics of the solar carport installation, irradiation data collected from the National Institute of Meteorology basis and with a solarimetric station located at the same place as the solar carport is installed, HIGHLIGHTS  Increasing electric vehicles against utility grid energy supplying capacity.  Solar Carport system as a solution to provide energy for EV recharging needs. Performance analysis of a real solar carport energy production. Comparison between energy production and electric vehicle consumption for a day use.

Related Work and Motivation for Electric Vehicle Solar/Wind Charging Stations: A Review

“…Table 5 displays the PBP for several projects utilizing PV-powered EV charging systems. In the identical scenario, this resulted in a different PBP solely because of the alteration in the price of the energy unit (electricity or fossil fuel) as documented by Kulik et al [41,42]. The typical PBP ranged from 1 to 15 years.…”

“…If 15% of the fleet is replaced with EVs, 17,151.8 MWh of electricity would need to be generated, requiring the construction of 36,856 carports, totaling around 1,105,685 square meters. Kulik et al [42] showed that a solar carport system may effectively fulfill the energy needs for EV usage. The carport may generate an average of 483 kWh per month.…”

“…These locations offer parking spaces that can be utilized for solar-powered charging networks by both employees and visitors. Kulik et al [42] analyzed the electricity generation of a PV carport at Brazil's Federal Technological University of Paraná. It is estimated that a distance of 3525.5 km can be covered in a month, assuming an average energy consumption rate of 0.137 kWh/km.…”

“…The optimal system outperforms the standard case, leading to a 9% decrease in the system's net present cost, a 10% reduction in energy costs, and a 45% lower annual utility bill. Kulik et al [42] analyzed the electricity production of a PV carport at Brazil's Federal Technological University of Paraná. The PBP for a PV system is around 5 years when simply taking into account the power aspect.…”

Analysis of Scenarios for the Insertion of Electric Vehicles in Conjunction with a Solar Carport in the City of Curitiba, Paraná—Brazil

“…The environmental degradation resulting from greenhouse gas emissions and the upcoming shortage of fossil fuels highlights the importance of generating energy with minimal environmental impacts, confirming the relevance of including different energy sources in the national energy matrix [1][2][3].…”