A solar energy based electric vehicle charging infrastructure for shopping centre

Abstract

Among the numerous climate change concerns confronting our society, one of the most critical is lowering emissions from road transportation. Electric vehicles (EVs) are vital aspects in efforts to reduce CO2 emissions and improve air quality in urban areas. However, charging infrastructure is required to enable the transition from internal combustion engines (ICEs) to electric vehicles.To convince consumers to change to electric vehicles, Malaysia's government has declared in its 2022 national budget that EVs would be totally tax-free upon import, excise duty, and all other taxes. Making them more affordable is critical, but so is assuring their functionality.The study's objective was to develop the most appropriate model for enhancing the renewable energy system for EV charging stations located in shopping centres' parking lots in order to maximise electric power and carbon savings. The parking area of the IOI City Mall has been turned into public charging area and a solar farm. The simulations were conducted utilising the main five EV charging stations, which can accommodate 690 vehicles per month. The simulation consists of 4 main models. Each model corresponds to a different battery capacity: S, M, L, and XL. Each case was simulated twice: on a sunny day and on a gloomy day. The HOMERpro programme is used to determine the system's potential and the capacity of the generated electricity.The findings indicate that it is feasible to utilise the carparks of Malaysian shopping centres as a solar power plant for off-grid EV charging stations. The simulation of an unfulfilled electrical demand indicates the feasibility of the designed-solar panel installation. The electricity generated is sufficient to power the EV charging stations. On-site renewable energy (RE) generation for EV charging stations enables both cost savings and CO2 reductions associated with power generation.