Abstract
•Survey is conducted in five regions of Saudi Arabia to access driver behavior.•Per-unit load profiles are determined using driver and electric vehicle data.•Penetration scenarios of electric vehicles in Saudi Arabia are determined.•Impact of electric vehicles on power generation margin is analyzed.•Policy considerations are proposed for viable deployment of electric vehicles.
Transportation electrification is considered as a viable option to reduce the dependence of transportation sector on the fossil-fuels. Different countries have ambitious plans to enhance the penetration of electric vehicles (EVs) to meet their sustainability goals. Till now, Middle East has lower penetration of EVs mainly due to lower local fuel prices. However, several countries in the region are emphasizing on the sustainable means of transportation including transportation electrification. In this study, a survey is conducted in five different regions of Saudi Arabia and total of over 1600 trip data samples are collected. The data is then processed to extract different features of the driving patterns. The driver data along with data of commercially available EVs is utilized to estimate the per-unit load profiles of EVs. The per-unit profiles are utilized to estimate the load of EV fleet considering the commonly used charging levels in the residential sector. Different penetration levels of EVs are considered using the current and future projected number of vehicles up to 2025. The ability of the power network to sustain these penetration levels are analyzed in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, several policy considerations are put forward for the sustainable deployment of the EVs in the country.