Suitability of On Site Solar Generation, Including Vertical Bifacial Panels, for a Charging Station Analogous to a Present Day Convenience Store

The outputs of four separate 5 kW PV systems are modeled using 2019 Merced weather data and compared to the expected daily energy demand of a theoretical charging station similar in size and throughput to a gas pump convenience store. Time-of-day generation and hourly day ahead pricing are also considered in determining the offset in cost when acting as a supplement to meeting customer demand from the grid. Though the available area of a convenience store is found to be insufficient to support on-site generation that would contribute more than a miniscule percentage of charging demand or defray more than 5% in daily energy costs at wholesale rates, the required size of systems scaled up to meet said demand matches that of typical shopping center parking lots, suggesting an opportunity for refit of gas stations located near multi-business parking areas alongside the installation of solar parking shades. For California, south facing latitude tilted monofacial panels lead in annual production over vertical bifacial panels in the absence of active efforts to increase local ground albedo, though higher albedo, higher soiling rates, and a greater proportion of diffuse vs direct sunlight make vertical panels more favorable. As charging infrastructure expands into parking lots and shopping centers, vertical panels may also find a niche with businesses that have peak hours in the early morning or evening, or that primarily operate in winter.