Electric vehicles would reduce the rate deficit in León by 40%

Electric vehicles would reduce the rate deficit in León by 40%

A study of the UNED published in the magazine Energy shows the significant impact that this technology would have on the electricity bill

    Engineers from the National University of Distance Education (UNED) have shown that a transport model based on electric vehicles would be profitable in the city of León, where the tariff deficit could be reduced by more than 43% in 2020. Although the study contemplates small rises of certain taxes, consumers, the State and other agents of the electricity system would gain in profitability, by reducing their dependence on oil.

    The tariff deficit The difference between the revenues and costs of the electricity system is one of the most serious problems that the Spanish electricity sector has been dragging on since 2003. Beyond the measures that different governments have taken, without making it disappear, researchers from the Department of Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Control of the UNED have designed a model, based on the generalization of the electric vehicle that would reduce this deficit between 43.5% and 47.1% in the city of León in 2020.

Our work shows that a sustainable transport model based on electric vehicles is profitable and ensures an economic benefit for all actors involved in the electricity system: generators, marketers, owners of the electric vehicle and the State itself, explains Antonio Colmenar-Santos , lead author of the study.

Advantages for the consumer

To design the model, which is published in the magazine Energy, engineers have started from a scenario located in 2020-2030, where they have taken into account the expected penetration of the electric vehicle, the evolution estimates of the León car park, the evolution of the inflation according to the International Monetary Fund, the evolution of the price of oil fixed by the Department of Energy of the United States and the forecasts of the energy consumption of the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism.

In addition, since one of the great brakes for the expansion of the electric vehicle is the loss of income from hydrocarbon taxes for the State, researchers have proposed several tax modifications. The repercussion to the consumer would be minimal and even positive since it would stop paying taxes through other channels, mainly taxes for hydrocarbons that, currently, represent approximately 50% of the cost of fuels, says Colmenar-Santos.

In this way, the model contemplates increasing the electricity tax to 4.93% and creating a Vehicle to grid transaction rate of the vehicle to the network, which will serve to receive money from both the marketer and the owner of the green vehicle. the sale of electricity to electric companies.

It also proposes an increase in tolls of 1% and small increases in motor vehicle registration and traction taxes to finance charging points for electric vehicles. This guarantees profitability for all actors, underlines David Borge-Díez, another of the authors of the study.

Amortized costs

Along with this profitability, the work reveals the environmental benefits that the generalization of the electric vehicle would bring. León's carbon dioxide emissions in 2020 would be reduced by 5,862 tons, which, transferred to the emissions market, would generate profits close to 100,000 euros after its sale. As for oil, savings of 41,879 barrels of oil are estimated for the same year.

On the other hand, the use of smart grids, electric vehicles and adequate remuneration policies means that the energy stored in the batteries of electric vehicles can be injected into consumption peaks, generating a better balance of the electrical system, says Pedro Miguel Ortega. Head, another of the signers of the article.

With these measures, the State would recover the investment made to purchase buses and electric taxis and to install recharging points. In addition, the consumer would also amortize the cost of the battery of his vehicle, when obtaining income by giving his energy to the network. The average benefits per user, once the cost of the battery has been recovered, are estimated at more than 7,000 euros, calculates Ortega-Cabeza.

Advantages of León

The choice of the city of Leon to design the model was not casual. Its size (less than 200,000 inhabitants), its mobility plan that ranked second in the 2012 European Mobility Prize and its historic center limited to traffic decisively influenced the engineers of the UNED.

In addition, the fact that it houses an intelligent electricity grid (Smart Grid), which allows managing the electrical energy absorbed and transferred to the network, acted in its favor. We plan to present the results to different authorities in Castilla y León, Borge-Díez says.

Meanwhile, researchers are working to extend the model to larger cities, such as Madrid and Barcelona, ​​verifying their viability point by point, since each urban nucleus needs its own transport model.