Technical Economic Analysis of Photovoltaic-Powered Electric Vehicle Charging Stations under Different Solar Irradiation Conditions in Vietnam

Abstract

At present, the electric vehicle (EV) market is developing strongly and widely across many countries around the world. Increasing clean energy infrastructure for EVs is a possible solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help improve air quality in urban areas. Electric vehicles charged by electricity from photovoltaic (PV) systems can produce less emissions than conventional EVs charged by the utility grid. Thus, the combination of solar power and EV charging stations is one of the possible methods to achieve sustainable development in the current EV market. EVs in cities in Vietnam have developed very quickly in recent times, but the charging station infrastructure is still very limited, and most existing charging stations use electricity from the utility grid. In this paper, the optimal configuration of PV-powered EV charging stations is analyzed technically and economically under different solar irradiation conditions in Vietnam. The study results show that the optimal configuration and investment efficiency of PV-powered EV charging stations in each urban area are greatly affected by the solar irradiation value and feed-in tariff (FIT) price of rooftop solar power. In Vietnam, a region with high solar irradiation, such as Ho Chi Minh, is more likely to invest in PV-powered EV charging stations than other areas with lower solar irradiation, such as Hanoi.