Methodological Evaluation to Integrate Charging Stations for Electric Vehicles in a Tram System Using OpenDSS—A Case Study in Ecuador

Abstract

The difficulties in transitioning to electric mobility in developing countries lie in the lack of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles and buses. This research proposes a novel methodology to integrate electric vehicles and buses to optimise the tramway infrastructure. It is necessary to address challenges from the technical point of view by analysing the stochasticity of its variables through simulation in OpenDSS software. The technical feasibility of the tram power system and the impacts caused in the distribution network due to the incorporation of charging stations in three operating scenarios: the first in slow charging, the second in fast charging, and a third scenario that combines the previous two methods. The simulations determine that slow charging at night represents 9% of the total bus fleet, improving the utilisation factor of the tram system from 11% to 32%, whereas the fast and combined charging of vehicles and buses is not feasible due to the increase in losses in the system due to overloading in the network; however, the study validates the penetration of certain charging stations in the tramway network in a real case.