Solar Powered Charging Station for Electric Vehicles in Kathmandu Valley-A Case Study of Sundar Yatayat

Abstract

Nepal is shifting towards clean mobility with increasing reliance on electric vehicles. There will be huge pressure on NEA to meet the future electricity demand, so alternatives like renewable energy should be opted for charging. Using solar energy is viable in Nepal since the technology is already advanced and economically cheap. In this paper, a feasibility study is done about the techno-financial aspect of installing the solar PV system for charging electric vehicles. Public electric vehicles operated by company, Sundar Yatayat Pvt. Ltd. are taken into consideration for data collection and feasibility test. The company operates four vehicles currently, two buses of length 10.5m and 8.5m and two vans of length 6m which runs in ring-road of Kathmandu valley. A survey is conducted regarding the types of vehicles operated, charging pattern of the vehicles, number of units consumed to charge the vehicles, charging location, annual income as well as its operation and maintenance costs, internal rate of return (IRR) and payback period are used for the feasibility of the use of solar PV energy for charging the vehicles. There are four vehicles in operation at present, so the comparison is done between charging the vehicles through various percentage share of solar PV system to the current charging units i.e., 100%, 80% and 50% share of solar PV system. In all three cases, the Levelized Cost of electricity is calculated and the vehicle operating routes are studied inside Kathmandu valley. Finally, the optimal and feasible solution for solar-based