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Recharging infrastructure planning for electric vehicles : a lifecycle thinking approach

University of British Columbia

Decarbonizing the road transportation sector has gained immense attention with the greenhouse gas targets stipulated by the Canadian government in 2007. Transport electrification using low-emission electricity has been identified as one of the key methods for achieving climate action targets and reducing the extensive fossil fuel demands. Substituting conventional light-duty vehicles with electric vehicles (EVs) is considered more scalable in the Canadian context. However, the limited vehicle ranges, limited recharging infrastructure availability, and extensive switching costs are key challenges that limit the widespread adoption of EVs. Conventional EV recharging infrastructure planning and investment strategies are based on ad-hoc decisions. Those practices have overlooked lifecycle impacts and costs of electric transport systems, including multi-period recharging demands and investment paybacks, strategies for sustainable infrastructure deployment, and acquiring anticipated recharging demands. The primary goal of this study is to develop a planning and management framework for EV recharging infrastructure. A lifecycle thinking approach was used to identify the best desirable low-emission fuel technology and strategies to deploy recharging infrastructure for Canadian provinces. In most provinces, EVs showed higher cradle-to-gate emissions and lower cradle-to-grave emissions compared to conventional vehicles. Moreover, the EV cost of ownership is considered as one of the key barriers that limit the widespread adoption of EVs. Hence, an incentive planning framework was developed to identify the most appropriate incentive-scheme for Canadian regions to strategically sustain the anticipated recharging demands. Accordingly, vehicle purchasing rebates, sales tax waivers, government subsidize recharging, and carbon-tax policies were found as viable incentives and tax options. A project delivery method selection framework was developed to encourage investors by incorporating partnering and collaborative approaches to deploy infrastructure for multiple periods. Public-private-partnerships for early adoption and integrated project management for business-as-usual was identified as the most desirable project delivery methods for recharging infrastructure deployment process. Municipalities and government institutions can use developed frameworks to identify locations for recharging facilities, evaluate different incentive options, and compare the overall impacts of transport electrification at the planning stages. Moreover, the outcome of this research advocates communities reducing their transport-based carbon footprint and growing the low-emission travel culture for a sustainable future.

Text

2020-06-26

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/74796

Civil Engineering

University of British Columbia

UBCO

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/