Fulfilling the electricity demand of electric vehicles in the long term future: An evaluation of centralized and decentralized power supply systems

Electric vehicles (EVs) are currently seen as an option for a more sustainable transportation sector, but it is not yet clear how to supply them with electricity whilst striving for low costs and low CO2 emissions. Renewable sources can supply electricity with low emissions, but their penetration rate is still insufficient to meet current demand, let alone the extra demand of EVs. A promising option is supply by Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants with high combined efficiencies, but an in-depth evaluation of the benefits of combining of EVs and CHP plants is still missing. Therefore, this study evaluates the performance of four different types of CHP plants to power electric vehicles, as compared to use of electricity from the grid. The performance of CHP plants is simulated using detailed datasets of the composition of a future power system, the demand for household electricity and heat, and technical specifications of CHP plants and electric vehicles. We find that the lowest abatement costs of 60–190€/tCO2 are achieved with grid electricity based on a low-carbon electricity mix compared to a business-as-usual electricity mix with marginal emissions of 450–500gCO2/kWh. When electricity is supplied by CHP plants, emissions are −1000 to 400gCO2/kWh, and abatement costs are 165–940€/tCO2. We did not observe added benefits of joint implementation of CHP plants and EVs: the timing of CHP electricity supply and EV electricity demand did not match well, and abatement costs were not lowered.

[1]  V. I. Ugursal,et al.  Residential cogeneration systems: Review of the current technology , 2006 .

[2]  Manfred Fischedick,et al.  Market perspectives of stationary fuel cells in a sustainable energy supply system - long-term scenarios for Germany , 2006 .

[3]  Patrícia Baptista,et al.  Plug-in hybrid fuel cell vehicles market penetration scenarios , 2010 .

[4]  Martin Weiss,et al.  Market diffusion, technological learning, and cost-benefit dynamics of condensing gas boilers in the Netherlands , 2009 .

[5]  Kevin P. Schneider,et al.  Impacts Assessment of Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles on Electric Utilities and Regional US Power Grids: Part 1: Technical Analysis , 2007 .

[6]  Wim Turkenburg,et al.  A comparison of electricity and hydrogen production systems with CO2 capture and storage—Part B: Chain analysis of promising CCS options , 2007 .

[7]  Willett Kempton,et al.  Integration of renewable energy into the transport and electricity sectors through V2G , 2008 .

[8]  Kiron Chatterjee,et al.  Planning for an Unpredictable Future: Transport in Great Britain in 2030 , 2006 .

[9]  Ruzhu Wang,et al.  COMBINED COOLING, HEATING AND POWER: A REVIEW , 2006 .

[10]  Leif Gustavsson,et al.  District heating and energy efficiency in detached houses of differing size and construction , 2009 .

[11]  W. Wetzels.  Onrendabele top berekeningen voor nieuw WKK-vermogen 2008 , 2008 .

[12]  Julien Chevallier,et al.  Risk Aversion and Institutional Information Disclosure on the European Carbon Market: A Case-Study of the 2006 Compliance Event , 2008 .

[13]  Wim Turkenburg,et al.  Techno-economic comparison of series hybrid, plug-in hybrid, fuel cell and regular cars , 2010 .

[14]  Jeremy J. Michalek,et al.  Impact of Battery Weight and Charging Patterns on the Economic and Environmental Benefits of Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles , 2009 .

[15]  Nilay Shah,et al.  Effects of optimised plug-in hybrid vehicle charging strategies on electric distribution network losses , 2010, IEEE PES T&D 2010.

[16]  André Faaij,et al.  Energy use, cost and CO 2 emissions of electric cars , 2011 .

[17]  Wim Turkenburg,et al.  A comparison of electricity and hydrogen production systems with CO2 capture and storage. Part A: Review and selection of promising conversion and capture technologies , 2006 .

[18]  Bengt Johansson,et al.  Energy and environmental costs for electric vehicles using CO2-neutral electricity in Sweden , 2000 .

[19]  Adam Hawkes,et al.  Impacts of temporal precision in optimisation modelling of micro-combined heat and power , 2005 .

[20]  P. Späth.  District heating and passive houses - Interfering strategies towards sustainable energy systems , 2005 .

[21]  Mauro Reini,et al.  Optimal lay-out and operation of combined heat & power (CHP) distributed generation systems , 2009 .

[22]  Aoife Foley,et al.  Impacts of Electric Vehicle charging under electricity market operations , 2013 .

[23]  Renato Lazzarin,et al.  Local or district heating by natural gas: Which is better from energetic, environmental and economic point of views? , 2006 .

[24]  Dolf Gielen,et al.  Biomass for heat or as transportation fuel? A comparison between two model-based studies , 2007 .

[25]  William J. Smith,et al.  Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles—A low-carbon solution for Ireland? , 2010 .

[26]  M. Thring.  World Energy Outlook , 1977 .

[27]  Angela Me,et al.  The UNECE gender statistics database. , 2004 .

[28]  J. M. Sipma,et al.  Referentieraming energie en emissies 2010-2020 , 2010 .

[29]  Christian-Simon Ernst,et al.  Battery sizing for serial plug-in hybrid electric vehicles: A model-based economic analysis for Germany , 2011 .

[30]  Karsten Emil Capion,et al.  Optimal charging of electric drive vehicles in a market environment , 2011 .

[31]  Morten Boje Blarke,et al.  The effectiveness of storage and relocation options in renewable energy systems , 2008 .

[32]  S Consonni,et al.  Alternative strategies for energy recovery from municipal solid waste Part B: Emission and cost estimates. , 2005, Waste management.

[33]  Andrea Ramírez,et al.  Prospects for cost-effective post-combustion CO2 capture from industrial CHPs , 2010 .

[34]  Takao Kashiwagi,et al.  Evaluation of the Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle Considering Power Generation Best Mix , 2008 .

[35]  Aie,et al.  Energy Technology Perspectives 2012 , 2006 .

[36]  Richard L. Ottinger,et al.  Compendium of Sustainable Energy Laws: Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Promotion of Cogeneration Based on a Useful Heat Demand in the Internal Energy Market , 2005 .

[37]  Paul Stevens.  The Economics of Energy , 2009 .

[38]  E. Nieuwlaar,et al.  Introduction to Energy Analysis , 2008 .

[39]  Günter R. Simader,et al.  Micro CHP systems: state-of-the-art , 2006 .

[40]  André Faaij,et al.  Planning for an electricity sector with carbon capture and storage , 2008 .

[41]  André Faaij,et al.  Performance of batteries for electric vehicles on short and longer term , 2012 .

[42]  Lee Chapman,et al.  Transport and Climate Change , 2012 .

[43]  Giampaolo Manzolini,et al.  Energy analysis of electric vehicles using batteries or fuel cells through well-to-wheel driving cycle simulations , 2009 .

[44]  A. Faaij,et al.  Competitiveness of CO2 capture from an industrial solid oxide fuel cell combined heat and power system in the early stage of market introduction , 2011 .

[45]  Wim Turkenburg,et al.  Pathways towards large-scale implementation of CO2 capture and storage: a case study for the Netherlands , 2009 .

[46]  Aie.  World Energy Outlook 2011 , 2011 .

[47]  Chris Marnay,et al.  Plug-in electric vehicle interactions with a small office building: An economic analysis using DER-CAM , 2010, IEEE PES General Meeting.

[48]  Adam Hawkes,et al.  Cost-effective operating strategy for residential micro-combined heat and power , 2007 .

[49]  José Alberto Fuinhas,et al.  Interactions between electricity generation sources and economic activity in Greece: A VECM approach , 2014 .

[50]  Tony Markel,et al.  Costs and Emissions Associated with Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle Charging in the Xcel Energy Colorado Service Territory , 2007 .

[51]  Wim Turkenburg,et al.  Impact of international climate policies on CO2 capture and storage deployment: Illustrated in the Dutch energy system , 2011 .

[52]  Thore Berntsson,et al.  Gas turbines in district heating combined heat and power systems: influence of performance on heating costs and emissions , 2000 .