Economic optimization of hybrid renewable system for near-zero emission electric vehicle charging stations in the capital cities of the world

Abstract

The growing adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and the increasing demand for EV charging stations present significant challenges in ensuring sufficient energy capacity while promoting a clean and sustainable power supply. This study optimizes hybrid renewable energy systems and offers a global comparative analysis of their economic performance in supplying reliable power to Level 2 EV charging stations with a near-zero emissions approach. To this end, the capital cities of 85 countries worldwide were selected, each with different annual solar and wind resource profiles, national electricity tariffs, inflation rates, and grid emission factors, to minimize energy-related costs for both daytime and nighttime EV charging scenarios. According to the results, the best daytime LCOEs were observed in capital cities located in the Middle East, North Africa, and South and Southeast Asia, with values of 0.09–0.15 $/kWh. In contrast, in regions such as Central Europe, Southern Europe, East Asia, Oceania, and North America, where the optimized LCOEs range from 0.16 to 0.39 $/kWh, lower levels of incentives are required to make renewable energy more attractive for use in green chargers compared to grid tariffs. Additionally, the CO₂ emission profit potential of 1.4–16.2 tons/year was determined for stations with at least one EV charging session per day.