The feasibility of solar parking lots for electric vehicles

The direct coupling of solar electricity with electric vehicles is very topical due to their many co-benefits, such as reducing the electricity flow into and from the grid. This work illustrates this solution using a park-and-ride lot outside Lisbon to study its solar energy potential to charge electric vehicles. The solar resource, its exploitation and coordination with the vehicles under different charging approaches are discussed in detail, using methods extendible to other cases. A genetic-algorithm optimisation was performed to maximise the solar energy generation. To ascertain the techno-economic feasibility of the concept, several sets of assumptions are analysed, including the use of energy storage and smart charging. For current market conditions, the payback time is found to be 14 years; a modest financial public incentive would significantly improve the project economics - making the payback drop to 7 years - enabling conditions to put this inescapable and green approach at the forefront.