Solar Charging Stations

SOLAR CHARGING STATIONS BOUNDLESS ENERGY

BOUNDLESS SCOPE

…but by the millions of two wheelers that ply on Indian roads

Choking Vehicles & Choking Fumes

Of the 54.67 lakh non-transport vehicles only 1.91 lakhs are LMVs

Rest are Two Wheelers

Bengaluru Edition : The Hindu May 09, 2016

0.5 tonnes of CO2 /yr /vehicle for an average of 10000 Km/yr @ 2.4 Kg of CO2/litre of petrol

Which means

We are adding 5 to 7 million tonnes of CO2 every year only on account of two wheelers

ALARMING CARBON FOOT PRINT

IS IT HEALTHY GROWTH ?

Every month we add more than a million two wheelers on Indian roads

THE OBVIOUS SOLUTION

Make Solar power as Motive power for the following reasons

The Electric vehicles in two wheeler category is well established from technical point of view

Cost of solar power is fast reducing to less than Rs 5/kwh

Governments are encouraging roof top solar power as small as 3 KW, through ‘net metering’ purchase

The crux of the problem is proliferation of petrol based

two wheelers

ADVANTAGES OF EVs

Electric Vehicles can run 50 to 60 km per charge.

The average speed of 25 km /hr is more than adequate for normal city usage.

Very low cost of running and maintenance

As per Society of Manufacturers of electric vehicles ( SMEV), in 2 years the cost can be recovered

Source :www.smev.in

Thus solar power and Electric vehicles make a mighty combination

Saving valuable foreign exchange

Saving the environment

A MIGHTY COMBINATION

Provided we make them more user friendly, affordable by all sections of society

THE AIM OF THIS PRESENTATION IS TO MAKE SOLAR CHARGING A VIABLE PROPOSITION

“CHARGE YOUR VEHICLE WHEREVER & WHENEVER”

REMOVE RANGE ANXIETY

The major cause of failure in selling Evs is caused by distance anxiety.

It takes a few hours to recharge the batteries as compared to few minutes to refuel a petrol vehicle

Absence of charging stations for owner’s convenience

Concept of solar charging stations

Consider

A student attending a few hours of class

A shop owner who stays in his shop for many hours

A commuter who leaves his scooter at the parking-lot to catch the Metro

In all cases a free sunshine is available to charge the EV

Better it is done through solar plug-in

All that he has to do is to be a member of the chain of Charging Stations through annual or quarterly subscription

The promoter of the Brand-chain invites franchisees similar to Mobile phone retailers.

The Franchisee invests Rs 1 to 5 lakhs- depending on business potential in solar charging stations.

The surplus charge, if any, gets exported to grid through ‘net metering’. Thus power generated never goes waste

Promoter makes monthly payment based on kwh used for charging the EVs which is higher than the rate given by the government.

Solar charging stations-2

We shall bye-pass the technical details but be assured that complete technical feasibility to set up a Solar charging station is available ranging from a few Kw to several MWs

The vehicle owner is expected to run 10000 km annually out of which, say, 3000 km is by charging through Solar stations.

Thus @50km/kwh he utilizes 60kwh through different locations over period of a year.

A 3KW station generates 4200 kwh per annum which needs an investment of Rs 3.5 lakhs including batteries, panel, inverter etc.

Economics of Solar charging Stations

Average connectivity depends on location and vehicle population. Assume a market or metro parking unit is fully occupied and the entire

generation goes toward charging the vehicles. 4200 kwh @ Rs 20/kwh will fetch Rs 84000/yr of which the Promoter and

Franchisee share the income, say 20:80 Franchisee’s net income Rs 67200/yr giving more than 20% (depreciating

solar panels for 25Years) In other areas, say, only 50% is utilized, the EB grid pays for the rest

@9.50/kwh (Karnataka). Then income becomes Rs 19950+ 33600= Rs 53550. No profit sharing with Promoter for the grid supply.

To keep operation simple a lumpsum subscription can be collected say Rs 1200/yr from each vehicle owner and allow them to charge any where any time! (with option of quarterly payment)

Thus individual consumer pays 40 paise /km for the convenience of charging station. This is a small fee he pays for the services he received from the Promoter.

Though vehicles can be individually metered and billed the infrastructure and cost of maintenance may not be justifiable.

Economics of Solar charging stations

The promoter may be the Vehicle manufacturers themselves or any entrepreneur who is willing to venture in to new business avenues of Brand building.

The promoter undertakes the marketing of the concept and ensures that the customers get appropriate service

He is responsible for monitoring and monthly payment to the franchisee. He helps in turn key set up of the charging station at the franchisee’s place .

He also invests in infrastructure needed for customer data base, renewal of their membership and real time updation at all franchisee running the stations etc. POP displays and advertisements.

Developing a mechanism for Activation of charging through OTP or RFID Larger the base of the Promoter ( by having more franchisee) more EV

owners are likely to be members

Role of Promoter

Provides place for installation of solar charging station and place for parking the vehicles.

While roof top is ideal for panels adequate ground space is needed for vehicle parking

Maintenance of hardware –like solar panels , battery bank -and record of units generated & vehicles being charged. This can be automated by data acquisition system.

Role of Franchisee

Frequently asked Questions

What is the ideal location ? Ideally who are already in the business of vehicle parking management can invest for augmenting their income with least investment. In addition Petrol pumps, Colleges, Malls, Hospitals, rail & bus stand where people tend to converge for various day today activities are ideal locations

What is the income expected ? For every KW installed, if fully utilized for energizing the EVs Rs 80 per day if the customers are charged at the rate of Rs 20/kwh.

How many vehicles can be charged at any given time ? This depends on the current rating of the individual vehicles. A 500W EV having 24AH battery will draw 2.4 amps initially and later much less depending on the level of Charge. Thus a 3 KW charging station can comfortably handle 5 to 6 EVs at a time. In any case it is a floating situation a few Evs staying for a few hours and in a day 3 or 4 cycles may take place at each charging port. Hence it is prudent to calculate the Distance likely to be covered with each kwh generation even though by different EVs

It looks like a chicken & egg syndrome. Who will come forward to invest when there is no significant EV population ?

Fortunately the purchase of power by Electricity Boards has simplified the task . The investor is assured some minimum returns. This gives time for breathing so that the Promoter/ EV manufacturers can formulate sound strategies in expanding the market while getting the franchisees on board. Thus a healthy building of EV Market can be effected.

Why solar ? Why not use grid electricity for charging? In a power deprived country, like ours, if we can build an independent sustainable

system it is a contribution to the nation’s growth. Franchisee should be explained that it is better to invest in Solar based applications than investing in fancy high end cars or gold which turn out to be dead investments. Moreover it can be installed in any remote corner of the country irrespective power shutdowns, thus a reliable charging point for vehicular movement. Some government subsidies can accelerate the plan.

What about Wind mill operators as their mills are working in remote places? They too should participate if a Net metering concept can be worked out so that

income out of power generated through renewable source is higher than the Govt rates.

Frequently asked questions

What are the other advantages? Once the concept catches on, many Corporates may come

forward to promote this as CSR activity making it totally free.

Similar situation may arise in colleges or smaller organisations as an incentive to their employees to go green.

The high rise apartment dwellers too get a chance to use EVs if the builders include it as part of their scope (like DG sets).

What is needed is a package system which is scalable.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if the member unable to use quota of 3000 Km in one year (or 750 km in one quarter) ?

This is the cost of giving the benefit of “Anytime Anywhere” charging without cumbersome payment hassles to remove range anxiety . Some may use more and some may less. It is just a ball park number. The market competition in course of time will land in acceptable numbers.

Frequently asked questions

There is no dearth of consumers

No dearth of open space

No dearth of sunshine

IF OUR EFFORTS ARE NOT LACKING , THERE IS NO DEARTH OF SOLUTIONS