Latvian Electric Vehicle Fast Charging Infrastructure: Results of the First Year of Operation

Abstract

This article presents preliminary analysis of the Latvian national EV fast - charging network after the first year of operation. The first phase of Latvian national EV fast-charging network was launched in 2018 with 70 charging stations on the TEN-T roads and in the largest towns and cities. The article looks at the initial results, both looking at the total capacity utilization for individual charging stations, determining the hourly charging distribution; and to the utilization of the network as a whole. The results present that there is a very large dispersion of the data, most of the charging events happening in a few charging stations in and around the capital of Latvia. However, there have been charging events in all charging stations, even in the most remote ones. Even more skewed distribution was observed analyzing the charging habits of the EV users, with 10 % of users accounting for more than half of the charging events. This should be taken into account when considering applying the results for the future, expecting larger number of electric vehicles in Latvia.

Development of model for increasing electric vehicle charging capacity with limited available grid power

“…The amount of the installed battery capacity was varied from 0 to 24 kWh with 2 kWh increments. This would account for requirements of 95 % of all charging events -see An average hourly charging distribution was determined in [8] using the data from two most frequently used charging stations in Latvia. Average distribution of charging events is presented in Table 5, at the same time noting that no correlation was observed between the actual charging events or charged energy amounts in individual days.…”

“…This charging event distribution table was used as a basis for probability distribution to generate charging session schedules for a year using Monte Carlo simulation for various utilisation rates, based on actual charging station utilisation rates in Latvia, as described in [8] -64 charging stations or 88 % of all were charging once a day or less.…”

“…This means that average energy costs in the Latvian fast charging network are extremely high, as the average monthly charging is low. Based on the information from the Latvian fast charging network first year of operation as presented in Fig.1, the transmission and distribution costs range from 359.5 to 0.0851 EUR•kWh -1 [8], depending on the station utilisation rate and subsequently the charge amount.…”

Investigation of the revision requirement of an existing electrical installation integrated with electric vehicle charging station in Simaris software

“…Tüm bu standartlar, elektrikli araç şarj istasyonlarının ve bu yapılara ait yan donanımın bünyelerinde barındırmaları gereken teknik yeterlilikleri belirten regülasyonlardır. Bu standartlara bütünüyle uyulmak kaydıyla, şebekeye entegre edilecek şarj istasyonlarının kullanıcılar tarafından kolay ulaşılabilir olan [26] stratejik noktalara tesisi [27], mümkün olduğunca düşük maliyetli kullanımı [28], şarj kapasitelerinin tesis edilecekleri lokasyondaki araç sayılarına göre yeterli düzeyde olması [29], şarj istasyonları yoğunluk saatlerinin tespiti ve planlanması [30], istasyonların hızlı şarj özelliğinin bulunması [31]- [34], şebekede gerilim stabilitesini bozucu etkiye sebebiyet vermemeleri [35], farklı şarj tiplerine sahip olmaları [36] gibi hususların da karşılanması gerekmektedir.…”

Opportunities for electric vehicle fast charging networks in Northern regions using smart charging

“…For complete understanding of it, initial investment costs would play crucial role; • The second direction is more detailed charging scenario analysis under various locations. The basis for the charging schedules used in [9] was originally attained analysing general charging event distribution in Latvia [20]. It will have to be analysed in more detail whether there are significant differences between charging station use for heavily used stations, like Riga, and in charging stations in the countryside.…”