Rural EV charging: the effects of charging behaviour and electricity tariffs

As with many socio-techno transitions, rural areas often get left behind and Electric Vehicles (EVs) are no exception. This paper aims to highlight the lack of academic discourse surrounding the transition to EVs for rural areas as well as presenting the modelling and results of several potential scenarios for rural EV charging habits. Utilising 7-day travel patterns for a small rural village in the Peak District National Park, UK, this paper investigates the energy requirements and potential recharging patterns should this settlement switch all vehicles to EVs. Two key parameters have been incorporated into the EV charging model; electricity tariffs and charging behaviour based on current battery State of Charge (SoC). The model simulated a 4 week period, from which a time period, with a minimum length of one week, where energy balance could be assured for the whole system was extracted. Results show that instantaneous energy and power requirements can vary drastically depending on electricity tariffs and charging behaviours which could be a major cause for concern for rural grid infrastructure, and for the larger EV transition across the UK.