Sensitivity Analysis of the Electric Vehicle Charging Station Feasibility Considering Renewable Energy Generation and Microscopic Traffic Simulations

This study analyzes the economic viability of electric vehicle charging stations (EVCSs) in medium-sized cities with low electric vehicle (EV) adoption. Based on EVCS usage patterns from both Europe and the USA, and validating EV energy consumption with a microscopic model of roads and traffic through the Eclipse SUMO simulator, the analysis provides a comprehensive assessment. Also, level 2 and level 3 (DC fast) charging stations are considered with installation and operation costs. Finally, a photovoltaic (PV) system and governmental subsidies are considered as support. The Pasto city, Colombia, is the case study due to its medium-sized city characteristics in an emerging economy country, where EV penetration is concentrated in the capital and large cities, with a national EV penetration rate of less than 1%. Scenarios are developed with varying annual EV penetration rates and different financial discount rates. The results suggest that, without significant increases in EV adoption, government subsidies, and PV generation, EVCSs are not economically viable in most of the analyzed scenarios. The study concludes that the financial sustainability of these projects is heavily reliant on supportive public policies that incentivize infrastructure deployment, particularly in medium-sized cities.