Optimal techno-economic and environmental design of a renewable energy based charging station including second life batteries

Photovoltaic panels combined with second life batteries (SLBs) represent an interesting solution for avoiding the reinforcement of electricity grids when setting up electric vehicle charging stations. This paper presents an integrated design approach aiming at minimizing the Net Present Cost (NPC) and the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of such charging stations, while performing an optimal dispatch. The case study compares the cooptimization of charging stations installed at a school bus depot with first life stationary batteries (FLBs) or with SLBs. The results showed that the addition of PV panels and stationary batteries increases the income of such charging stations and reduces the load shedding, compared with grid only systems. For the case with FLBs, there is a low or null presence of batteries in the optimal design solutions, due to the high installation cost and production emissions. However, the low cost and emissions of SLBs leads to optimal configurations with a high presence of batteries, increasing even more the charging station’s incomes and the satisfaction of the EVs’ charging needs.