Canal-Top Photovoltaics for Supplying the Electricity Demand of a Fully Electrified Provincial Vehicle Fleet: A Case Study of Erzincan, Türkiye

This study assesses whether the annual electricity demand arising from the full electrification of the existing motor vehicle fleet in Erzincan, Türkiye, could be supplied by canal-top photovoltaic (PV) systems. A provincial-scale energy-balance framework was developed by integrating official vehicle stock data, national vehicle-kilometre statistics, electric vehicle energy consumption coefficients, tractor operating assumptions, local PV generation data, module specifications, canal length information, and investment cost benchmarks. The registered road vehicle fleet, excluding tractors, was estimated to generate 960.19 million vehicle-kilometres annually. Under full electrification, the corresponding traction-side electricity demand was calculated as 252.62–373.56 GWh/year, increasing to 265.25–392.24 GWh/year when charging losses were included. In the tractor sensitivity scenario, total grid-side demand increased to 310.51–528.00 GWh/year. Based on a specific PV yield of 1,550 kWh/kWp-year, meeting the road vehicle demand would require 171.1–253.1 MWp of installed canal-top PV capacity, 295,054–436,302 modules rated at 580 W, and 152.4–225.4 km of canal coverage. Including tractors increased these requirements to 200.3–340.6 MWp and 178.4–303.4 km. The required canal coverage corresponds to 20.4–40.6% of the reported 748 km irrigation canal network. The findings indicate that canal-top PV could theoretically supply the electricity demand of full provincial fleet electrification while supporting land-sparing renewable energy deployment, although detailed route suitability, grid integration, and techno-economic analyses are required before implementation.