Techno-Economic Evaluation of Solar-Based Mobile Charging Stations for Mini Electric Vehicles in Kuwait: DC and DC–AC Architectures with Fixed and Tracking Photovoltaic Systems

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Abstract
This study presents a comprehensive techno-economic and environmental evaluation of ten standalone solar-powered mobile charging station configurations for mini electric vehicles (MEVs) in Kuwait, simulated using HOMER Pro (v3.18.4). The configurations span DC–AC and pure DC-bus architectures, fixed and tracking photovoltaic (PV) systems, hybrid designs incorporating diesel generator backup, and fully renewable zero-emission systems. All configurations were evaluated under identical load demand (6460 kWh/year), solar resource, and economic assumptions derived from Kuwait’s desert climate at Al-Wafra farms (28°33′52.7″ N, 48°03′45.8″ E, annual average GHI = 5.49 kWh·m−2·day−1). Performance was assessed using Net Present Cost (NPC), Levelised Cost of Energy (LCOE), annual PV energy production, CO2 emissions, Energy Production Density (EPD), Renewable Fraction (RF), and the PV Energy Production-to-Load Ratio (PV-EPTLR). The results demonstrate that two-axis tracking on a DC-bank architecture without a generator (System 8) achieves the highest annual PV output of 13,635 kWh/year, representing a 36% increase over a fixed-tilt DC-bank system while eliminating 100% of operational CO2 emissions. Among the hybrid configurations, vertical single-axis tracking on a DC-bank architecture with generator backup (System 6) yields the lowest lifecycle cost (NPC = USD 6271.8; LCOE = 0.0751 USD/kWh), representing a 57% reduction relative to the fixed-tilt DC–AC baseline. EPD analysis confirms that tracking-based systems improve structural energy efficiency by up to 36%, making them particularly suitable for mobile and weight-constrained deployments. The findings provide actionable guidance for deploying sustainable off-grid MEV charging infrastructure in regions with limited grid access, offering a scalable pathway toward zero-emission rural transportation in solar-rich arid environments. The study further provides a systematic comparison between DC–AC and pure DC-bank charging architectures under identical operating conditions.

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