Design, Technical and Economic Optimization of Renewable Energy-Based Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in Africa: The Case of Nigeria

The transportation sector accounts for more than 70% of Nigeria’s energy consumption. This sector has been the major consumer of fossil fuels in the past 20 years. In this study, the technical and economic feasibility of an electrical vehicle (EV) charging scheme is investigated based on the availability of renewable energy (RE) sources in six sites representing diverse geographic and climatic conditions in Nigeria. The HOMER Pro® microgrid software with the grid-search and proprietary derivative-free optimization techniques is used to assess the viability of the proposed EV charging scheme. The PV/WT/battery charging station with a quantity of two WT, 174 kW of PV panels, a quantity of 380 batteries storage, and a converter of 109 kW located in Sokoto provide the best economic metrics with the lowest NPC, electricity cost, and initial costs of USD547,717, USD0.211/kWh, and USD449,134, respectively. The optimal charging scheme is able to reliably satisfy most of the EV charging demand as it presents a small percentage of the unmet load, which is the lowest when compared with the corresponding values of the other charging stations. Moreover, the optimal charging system in all six locations is able to sufficiently meet the EV charge requirement with maximum uptime. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to check the robustness of the optimum charging scheme. This sensitivity analysis reveals that the technical and economic performance indicators of the optimum charging station are sensitive to the changes in the sensitivity variables. Furthermore, the outcomes ensure that the hybrid system of RE sources and EVs can minimize carbon and other pollutant emissions. The results and findings in this study can be implemented by all relevant parties involved to accelerate the development of EVs not only in Nigeria but also in other parts of the African continent and the rest of the world.