A MULTI-PERIOD POWER INFRASTRUCTURE AND CHARGING STATION NETWORK PLANNING MODEL

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has embarked on an economic diversification strategy. One key priority is infrastructure development and environmental sustainability. The government is considering the integration of renewable and nuclear generation in the power sector as well as introducing electric vehicles into the transport sector to reduce fossil fuel consumption and air pollution. This research aims to determine the optimal arrangement between: electricity plants, charging stations, and power transmission and distribution interconnections. This to meet the electricity demand and production forecasts of a geographical region under operational and environmental constraints. The resulting electricity supply chain framework is modelled as a multi-period mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model. A case study of Abu Dhabi City from 2020-2030 was examined. The study results show that gas power still dominates by 2030, but at a lesser extent; whereas nearly 656 charging points are needed to cover 15,970 electric vehicles by 2030.