Deeply decarbonizing residential and urban central districts through photovoltaics plus electric vehicle applications

TL;DR

This study evaluates the cost-effectiveness and decarbonization potential of rooftop photovoltaics combined with electric vehicles in urban districts, showing rapid economic and environmental benefits from 2020 to 2040.

Contribution

It provides a techno-economic analysis of PV and EV integration in different urban environments, highlighting their increasing benefits over time and the impact of peer-to-peer energy exchanges.

Findings

PV + EV systems are already cost competitive in 2020.

Economic and decarbonization benefits increase significantly by 2030.

Peer-to-peer energy exchanges enhance system value and decarbonization potential.

Abstract

With the costs of renewable energy technologies declining, new forms of urban energy systems are emerging that can be established in a cost-effective way. The SolarEV City concept has been proposed that uses rooftop Photovoltaics (PV) to its maximum extent, combined with Electric Vehicle (EV) with bi-directional charging for energy storage. Urban environments consist of various areas, such as residential and commercial districts, with different energy consumption patterns, building structures, and car parks. The cost effectiveness and decarbonization potentials of PV + EV and PV (+ battery) systems vary across these different urban environments and change over time as cost structures gradually shift. To evaluate these characteristics, we performed techno-economic analyses of PV, battery, and EV technologies for a residential area in Shinchi, Fukushima and the central commercial district of Kyoto, Japan between 2020 and 2040. We found that PV + EV and PV only systems in 2020 are already cost competitive relative to existing energy systems (grid electricity and gasoline car). In particular, the PV + EV system rapidly increases its economic advantage over time, particularly in the residential district which has larger PV capacity and EV battery storage relative to the size of energy demand. Electricity exchanges between neighbors (e.g., peer-to-peer or microgrid) further enhanced the economic value (net present value) and decarbonization potential of PV + EV systems up to 23 percent and 7 percent in 2030, respectively. These outcomes have important strategic implications for urban decarbonization over the coming decades.