Determining the Suitability of Using Charging Centers to Use Excess Power Generation from Solar PV

The amount of sunlight that strikes the earth's surface in 90 minutes is adequate to meet the energy requirement of the world for one full year. Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is a safe, silent, and a non-polluting technology to convert solar energy to electricity. Grid-connected solar PV systems feeding low voltage networks are growing worldwide. As more PV systems are added to existing networks, they may be required to be curtailed to maintain the voltage stability of the grid. To avoid curtailment, several solutions are suggested in the literature. These include storing energy in battery banks, shifting loads to day-time, or converting electricity to other forms of energy. This study evaluates a solution to effectively use the surplus generation from solar PV within the distribution transformer service area, by establishing vehicle charging stations. The study attempts to determine the use of accumulated energy (rather than from individual generation sources) in charging centers for electric vehicles.