Comparative study of regular and smart grids with PV for Electrification of an academic campus with EV charging

The current global greenhouse gas (GHG) emission rates will increase the average global temperature by 1.5 °C by 2050. This will be detrimental for organisms and ecosystems, as well as human well-being. Many countries have pledged to halve their emissions by 2030 and reach net zero targets by 2050. Optimum generation of electricity from sustainable green sources and its use to charge electric vehicle (EV) batteries will solve this problem to greater extent. The best places to capture solar energy, use it to meet load demand and charge EV batteries are the large open car parking areas near retail stores, academic institutes, industrial areas, and offices. This study targets the open parking areas of an academic campus (King Saud University, Riyadh) to meet the load demand of 25,000 kWh/day with a peak load of 4180 kW and charging the batteries of parked EVs. Four system designs, simple grid, standalone photovoltaic (PV), simple grid and PV, and smart grid and PV, are compared. Currently, the cost of energy (COE) of the grid is US $ 0.085 in KSA. In comparison, the COE of standalone PV is almost 4.5 folds higher and in simple grid with PV, it is around 58% higher. However, a renewable penetration of 53.8% is achieved. In the third option, smart grid with PV, the COE is 24% lower compared to the base case. A 54.3% of the total energy produced is sold back to the grid, and the total renewable penetration of 77.7% is achieved. To observe the effect of energy sale limit on project parameters, the sensitivity analysis is performed. It can be observed that with a 1 MW increase in the limit, the COE decreases by around 20% and net present cost (NPC) by around 6%. The proposed models for the solar car parks can be used elsewhere with similar climatic conditions.