Solar EV charging stations for electric vehicles have emerged as one of the most effective solutions for India to lessen its reliance on fossil fuels for diverse types of transportation. This is because electric cars are often fueled by energy generated from fossil fuels, which is a significant source of worry.
Solar EV charging stations for electric vehicles has grown increasingly important as electric vehicles become more popular. There are two types of solar charging stations for electric vehicles now, depending on the arrangement.
Off-grid Solar Electric Vehicle Charging Station
The charging station is not linked to any local utilities in this configuration. As a result, it’s also known as an EV self-charging charger. The solar panel array here provides power to the battery storage system. Furthermore, this battery storage device meets the charger’s whole power need.
Because this form of charging station does not require a grid connection, it may be installed almost anywhere. They’re also simple to put up because most of them come with a robust steel foundation.
On-grid Solar Charging Stations for Electric Vehicles
Because the energy generated by the solar array is stored in the grid rather than in batteries, the cost of an on-grid solar EV charger is significantly lower than the cost of an off-grid counterpart. When you feed the grid, you earn credits that you may use to power your electric vehicle. You can sell the energy you don’t use to the utility provider.
A recent analysis shows that electric vehicle charging stations (EVCSs) with solar rooftop photovoltaic (SRTPV) facilities are economically more viable than those with the grid, to demonstrate the notion of using a clean source of energy (solar) for charging electric vehicles (EVs).
“The mismatch between solar energy generation and consumption (from charging) can be solved by deploying net-metering at charging stations. Among the scenarios considered, an EVCS connected to RTPV under net-metering policy represents the best-case scenario with the least LCOC,” the report by the Centre for Study of Science, Technology and Policy’s (CSTEP’s) said.
The analysis report is based on the CSTEP’s system design for the pilot project at the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) Corporate Office, which includes a power conversion unit (PCU), solar rooftop photovoltaic (SRTPV) panels, a lithium-ion battery bank, and an EV charger.
The project has an intelligent bi-directional converter (PCU) that connects with SRTPV and battery systems (with DC coupling) to regulate energy flow from EV chargers to the grid.
This is crucial because Indian cities consistently rank first in the world for the worst air quality. According to studies, the transportation industry is a major contributor to air pollution in cities (40-80%). As a result, decarbonizing the transportation sector through the use of electric vehicles (EVs) is an important step in reducing air pollution.
The government has pushed EVs as well, promising to have 450 GW of solar power among other renewables as part of its proposed action plan to tackle climate change.
The report highlighted the need for prioritization of solar energy for local consumption before feeding it to the grid and said: “The deployment of a novel charging algorithm where the EV charging load is made to follow the solar energy generation profile. Such a method reduces the need for a costly battery energy storage system (BESS).”
In the investigation, a battery storage capacity of 40 kWh was used, which held roughly 16 percent of the entire daily solar energy generated (on average). Upstream power prices are Rs. 5, Rs. 4.6, and Rs. 8.9 per unit for grid only, PV only, and PV with BESS, respectively. “Adding a BESS to a PV+Storage system raised the cost of power by Rs. 5.3/kWh.”
The research also includes a unique approach for estimating the Levelized cost of charging (LCOC) for a certain EVCS with grid-linked RTPV and RTPV with energy storage. The framework may be used to evaluate the feasibility of employing a grid-connected RTPV plus energy storage system to serve any electrical load.
Atum EV Solar Charging
ATUM Charge is India’s first 100% green, self-sustaining, solar-powered electric vehicle (EV) friendly mode of transportation.
ATUM Charge (a Visaka Industries Ltd project) has deployed ten universal electric vehicle charging stations around the country. EV Charging Stations have been installed in CHARGE Pune and Nagpur (Maharashtra), Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh), Rae Bareilly (Uttar Pradesh), Jhajjar (Haryana), Sambalpur (Odisha), Tumkur (Karnataka), Midnapore (West Bengal), Paramathi (Tamil Nadu), and Miryalguda (Tamil Nadu) (Telangana).
The areas were picked by the company’s goal of focusing on Tier 1 and Tier 2 towns and cities, as well as the encouraging pace of electric vehicle adoption in these states.
ATUM Charge enables consumers to adopt sustainable and eco-friendly practices. It covers 200 square feet and takes about a week to install.
The price of each ATUM Charge station is determined by the amount of space available. However, each station costs roughly INR 10 lakh on average and can help create jobs in addition to encouraging the uptake of electric vehicles.
ATUM Charge is creating an environmentally friendly and sustainable eco-system with the debut of its universal EV charging stations, reinforcing the company’s commitment to sustainability. “With the opening of 10 ATUM Charge EV Charging Stations throughout India, we have reinforced our resolve to help the EV ecosystem in India,” stated Vamsi Gaddam, Founder of ATUM Charge. Electric vehicles (EVs) are in high demand since they assist to protect the environment from hazardous pollutants while also decreasing our reliance on fossil fuels and lowering our fuel prices.
ATUM Charge is India’s first 100 percent green, universal EV charging station, and I encourage individuals and other like-minded businesses to get in touch with us if they are interested in establishing ATUM Charge stations in their towns and cities.
ATUM Charge now has 4 KW capacity panels installed, which can charge up to 10-12 cars (2/3/4 wheeler) every day, which is useful given that any EV today takes between 6-8 hours to fully charge. Three charging ports are available on the site. The firm will build a 6 KW charging station, allowing for the charging of 25-30 automobiles each day.
ATUM Charge is a one-of-a-kind EV Charging Station that employs ATUM, the world’s first Electricity Generating Integrated Solar Roof, which sets it apart from other EV Charging Stations. It allows the whole electric car charging offer to transition to 100 percent solar, whereas traditional EV Charging Stations produce electricity using thermal energy. This adds to the strain on the country’s energy system, exacerbating the country’s power crisis.
The firm is looking to partner with interested corporations and individuals that possess the land in prominent metropolitan areas and are ready to lease it out for 10 years or longer.
In September 2021, the first ATUM Charge Universal EV Charging Station opened in Hyderabad. ATUM Charge is a one-of-a-kind EV Charging Station that employs ATUM, the world’s first Electricity Generating Integrated Solar Roof, which sets it apart from other EV Charging Stations.
ATUM Charge will enable the entire electric vehicle charging proposition to transition to 100 percent solar, whereas most EV charging stations currently use electricity generated by thermal power plants, which is one of the primary sources of pollution, effectively defeating the goal of moving to an environmentally friendly power.
Traditional EV Charging Stations, which generate electricity using thermal energy, contribute to the strain on the electrical system, exacerbating the country’s power shortage.
Solar EV Charging Stations by BHEL
The solar-powered electric vehicle charging station at Karna Lake Resort in Karnal is one of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited’s (BHEL) 20 such stations along the Delhi-Chandigarh expressway. It has chargers for all sorts of electric cars already on the road in the nation, including AC001 (33.3kW), DC001 (15kW), and 72kW (50kW DC+22kW AC).
The Delhi-Chandigarh route has been designated as the country’s first e-vehicle friendly roadway. It has a network of solar-powered electric car charging stations built by state-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) under the Ministry of Heavy Industries’ FAME-1 [Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid) and Electric Vehicles in India] initiative.
Individual grid-connected rooftop solar plants give green and clean energy to the solar-based electric car charging stations, which are located at 20 locations along the roadway.
Mahendra Nath Pandey, Union Minister of Heavy Industries, recently inaugurated one of these cutting-edge charging stations at Karnal Lake Resort.
Within this year, BHEL plans to upgrade the additional charging stations along the roadway.
According to BHEL, the installation of such EV chargers at regular intervals of 25-30 km on the highway would alleviate EV customers’ range anxiety and boost their trust in inter-city travel.
