Electric Vehicle Deployment and Integration in the Saudi Electric Power System

Abstract

The demand for electricity in Saudi Arabia has grown in the last few years due to the growth in the economy and the population. The country has invested in many solutions such as promoting renewable energy and shifting to generation mix to respond to this growing demand. However, Electric Vehicles (EVs) are used as an important factor in achieving the Saudi Vision 2030 in its environmental and economical parts. This work gives an overview on the Saudi electrical energy system and then investigates the impact EVs technology in the electricity sector in Saudi Arabia and its relevant consequences. A statistical analysis is used to quantify the number of EVs, travelled distance and traffic congestions, and State of Charge (SOC). The data were used to implement a daily load profile for EVs for a large population of vehicles. The obtained results show that the EVs peak loads occur during the late evening and early morning at different means. Interestingly, the work shows that the peak periods of EVs occur during the off-peak times of the daily load curve. This means that a large population of EVs can offer more flexibility and improvement to the electric grid, and the summative EV load of a large population of vehicles has a smooth pattern and will not affect the national electric system.