Electric Vehicles Charging Using Photovoltaic Energy Surplus: A Framework Based on Blockchain

Abstract

In the present day, it is crucial for individuals and companies to reduce their carbon footprints in a society more self-conscious about climate change and other environmental issues. In this sense, public and private institutions are investing in photovoltaic (PV) systems to produce clean energy for self-consumption. Nevertheless, an essential part of this energy is wasted due to lower consumption during non-business periods. This work proposes a novel framework that uses solar-generated energy surplus to charge external electric vehicles (EVs), creating new business opportunities. Furthermore, this paper introduces a novel marketplace platform based on blockchain technology to allow energy trading between institutions and EV owners. Since the energy provided to charge the EV comes from distributed PV generation, the energy’s selling price can be more attractive than the one offered by the retailers—meaning economic gains for the institutions and savings for the users. A case study was carried out to evaluate the feasibility of the proposed solution and its economic advantages. Given the assumptions considered in the study, 3213 EVs could be fully charged by one institution in one year, resulting in over EUR 45,000 in yearly profits. Further, the economic analysis depicts a payback of approximately two years, a net present value of EUR 33,485, and an internal rate of return of 61%. These results indicate that implementing the proposed framework could enable synergy between institutions and EV owners, providing clean and affordable energy to charge vehicles.

Related Work and Motivation for Electric Vehicle Solar/Wind Charging Stations: A Review

“…Hence, preparing for RESs to charge EVs is environmentally beneficial. Cavalcante et al [71] introduced a novel structure that enables external EV charging utilizing surplus solar-generated energy, leading to the emergence of new commercial prospects. EVs charged exclusively using PV energy have the potential to emit twenty percent fewer greenhouse gases than EVs charged with a mixed electrical source.…”

“…The results confirm that employing PV arrays for EV off-board charging is feasible. Cavalcante et al [71] proposed an innovative framework for utilizing solar-generated energy surpluses to charge external EVs, creating new economic opportunities. The authors obtained data using a PV system with a capacity of 724 kW.…”

A Systematic Review of Optimization Approaches for the Integration of Electric Vehicles in Public Buildings

“…Additionally, blockchain alleviates the grid load and improves the reliability of the system. The authors of [99] proposed a business model using blockchain where payments were made via a mobile app. The second emerging technology is peer-to-peer (P2P), an energy trading method that allows prosumers of a community or cluster to trade surplus energy with each other, increasing their benefits and consumer benefits [100].…”

Blockchain technology in the renewable energy sector: A co-word analysis of academic discourse

“…One of the key areas where blockchain has made an impact is in electric e-mobility solutions [ 36 , [76] , [77] , [78] , [79] ]. The technology enables secure and efficient transactions for electric vehicle charging and billing, thereby facilitating the growth of the electric vehicle market [ 80 ]. Additionally, the technology promotes energy democratization and allows small-scale renewable energy producers direct access to the energy market [ 58 , [81] , [82] , [83] ].…”