Abstract:

The roll-out of e-mobility is expected to drive a rise in demand for electricity. A rise in the number of EVs (electric vehicles) in Europe puts pressure on power grids. At an urban scale, Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) are devised as archetypes of (small) urban districts managing a set of interconnected buildings and district elements (lighting system, vehicles, smart grid, etc.). This paper offers a comprehensive analysis of the impact of e-mobility in a PED, simulated using MATLAB-Simulink software. The PED, a small district in northern Spain, is assessed in five scenarios representing varying requirements in terms of energy efficiency of buildings, type of street lighting, and number of EVs.The results suggest that the energy rating of the buildings (ranging from A for the most efficient to E) conditions the annual energy balance. A PED with six interconnected buildings (3 residential and 3 public use) and 405 electric vehicles (as a baseline) can only be positive if the buildings have a high energy rating (certificate A or B). Simulation results suggest that the PED can support 695 EVs in the most efficient case (A-rated buildings), equating to roughly 9 million green kilometres. This result represents a potential 71% saving in carbon emissions from e-mobility alone (as compared to fossil-fuel vehicles), thus reducing the carbon footprint of the district and the city as a whole. This analysis of energy performance in five urban scenarios clearly shows to what extent e-mobility can benefit urban districts and the overall profile of cities.