The lack of even distribution of charging points in the emerging economies such as India hinders EVs use. The paper suggests the Just Energy Location (JEL) framework - a new conceptual and analytical tool to combine classical Location Theory and the concepts of Energy Justice to inform the planning of equitable, efficient, and participative EV charging infrastructure. This framework is operationalised using three pillars, including spatial and technical optimisation, equitable access and inclusion, and participatory governance that have measurable indicators based on both location-theoretic and energy-justice literature. These indicators are used to test actual policy settings, which allow a systematic assessment of policy settings, as opposed to an impressionistic one. The study carries out a techno-economic analysis by using HOMER software to analyze four Hybrid Renewable Energy System (HRES) based on a standalone EV charging station in Technopark, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The findings find vanadium flow batteries as an interesting long-term alternative due to their ability to provide significantly greater cost stability and resiliency to the supply chain, whereas wind-solar-lithium-ion battery is most cost-effective. The configurations are also assessed based on the alignment of each variable to the JEL framework pillar of equity and governance, as well as on LCOE and capital cost, and the study conceptual and empirical pillars are combined directly. The paper compares the policies of China, the United States and European Union concerning the EV charging policies to the policy environment in Kerala through the structured rubric in the JEL framework. The results provide direct implications to the state planners, DISCOMs, and policymakers interested in promoting sustainable, inclusive EV implementation, and are applicable to urban environments with similar energy and transport interactions, in general.
Sajith et al. (Mon,) studied this question.