Energy OASIS

Blueprint for Canada’s future electric vehicle charging stations

Two rows of solar panels over cars in a parking lot. — BCIT’s OASIS project.

BCIT’s Smart Microgrid Applied Research Team is conducting projects that will facilitate the transition to more environmentally sustainable transportation in Canada.

Given our country’s size, and the distances we have to travel, an environmentally sustainable transportation system has to provide electric vehicles the energy they need to move people and goods across this vast geography without jeopardizing the reliability of our electric grid.

BCIT’s Energy OASIS (Open Access to Sustainable Intermittent Sources) project demonstrates solutions that could be employed to help reduce the impact of fast-charging on the electric grid. The Energy OASIS project integrates photovoltaic panels and Li-Ion energy storage for a Level-3 fast charge electric vehicle charge station within BCIT’s Smart Microgrid system.

Energy OASIS addresses the intermittent nature of the renewable sources of energy used for EV charging through an “energy firming-up path” using Energy Storage and an Advanced Energy Management System (EMS). The Energy OASIS facility is comprised of: a 250 kW solar photovoltaic (PV) parking canopy paired with a 500 kWhr lithium-ion battery energy storage system (BESS); two DC Fast Charge (DCFC) EV charge stations; six Level 2 EV charge stations; and an advanced energy management system (EMS). The EMS predicts electrical generation based on weather forecasts, and EV charge profiles based on historical trends and EV charge reservations. The system can “island” itself from the electrical grid, for example in times of grid blackout, and continue to deliver electricity and charge EVs with either generated or stored energy.

The project partnership included support from the Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) Clean Energy Fund. An introductory overview of the Energy OASIS project is also available.

OASIS Project Announcement (September 14, 2016):

For more information about the Energy OASIS project, contact:
Dr. Vidya Vankayala,
Director, Smart Microgrid Applied Research Team