Designing a Sustainable Off-Grid EV Charging Station: Analysis Across Urban and Remote Canadian Regions

Electric vehicles are becoming more commonplace as we shift towards cleaner transportation. However, current charging infrastructure is immature, especially in remote and off-grid regions, making electric vehicle adoption challenging. This study presents an architecture for a standalone renewable energy-based electric vehicle charging station. The proposed renewable energy system comprises wind turbines, solar photovoltaic panels, fuel cells, and a hydrogen tank. As an energy storage system, second-life electric vehicle batteries are considered. This study investigates the feasibility and performance of the charging station with respect to two vastly different Canadian regions, Windsor, Ontario (urban), and Eagle Plains, Yukon (remote). In modeling these two regions using HOMER Pro software, this study concludes that due to its higher renewable energy availability, Windsor shows a net-present cost of $2.80 million and cost of energy of $0.201/kWh as compared to the severe climate of Eagle Plains, with a net-present cost of $3.61 million and cost of energy of $0.259/kWh. In both cases, we see zero emissions in off-grid configurations. A sensitivity analysis shows that system performance can be improved by increasing wind turbine hub heights and solar photovoltaic panel lifespans. With Canada’s goal of transitioning towards 100% zero-emission vehicle sales by 2035, this study provides practical insights regarding site-specific resource optimization for electric vehicle infrastructure that does not rely on grid energy. Furthermore, this study highlights a means to progress the sustainable development goals, namely goals 7, 9, and 13, through the development of more accessible electric vehicle charging stations.