Analysis of microgrid integrated Photovoltaic (PV) Powered Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (EVCS) under different solar irradiation conditions in India: A way towards sustainable development and growth

The depleting fossil fuel and growing environmental concern have opened the doors for clean and green energy development using renewable energy sources. Also, the growing oil demand and carbon emissions have created a huge scope for Electric Vehicle (EV) usage across the world which has resulted in blooming EV market. Photovoltaic (PV) powered EV charging can substantially reduce the carbon foot prints when compared to the conventional utility grid based EV charging. The amalgamation of solar power and EV charging is one of the best methods in sustainable development for EV market. Recent statistics suggest that usage of EVs in different cities in India has proliferated and the development of the charging infrastructure is a big challenge for the densely populated country. Firstly, theoretical demand model and stochastic model for EV traffic and resource utilization pattern is developed. Secondly, the optimal configuration and techno-economic assessment of Solar powered EV Charging Station (EVCS) in microgrid is analyzed for four different Indian cities (Shillong, Bengaluru, Jaipur and Kashmir) with varied solar radiation conditions. Lastly, the environment benefits of solar PV powered EVCS are assessed and analyzed. The results demonstrate that the optimal configuration and investment efficiency in each urban area is greatly affected by the solar irradiation and feed-in-tariff (FIT) price of rooftop solar power. Kashmir with high solar irradiation conditions can invest in the solar EVCS compared to the other cities. (C) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.