Version 1
: Received: 25 December 2023 / Approved: 25 December 2023 / Online: 26 December 2023 (03:57:34 CET)
How to cite:
Wanitanukul, S.; Kubaha, K.; Songprakorp, R. The Development of an Investment Model from Simulating a BMTA Electric Bus Fleet with a Validation of Economic Feasibility. Preprints2023, 2023121884. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202312.1884.v1
Wanitanukul, S.; Kubaha, K.; Songprakorp, R. The Development of an Investment Model from Simulating a BMTA Electric Bus Fleet with a Validation of Economic Feasibility. Preprints 2023, 2023121884. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202312.1884.v1
Wanitanukul, S.; Kubaha, K.; Songprakorp, R. The Development of an Investment Model from Simulating a BMTA Electric Bus Fleet with a Validation of Economic Feasibility. Preprints2023, 2023121884. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202312.1884.v1
APA Style
Wanitanukul, S., Kubaha, K., & Songprakorp, R. (2023). The Development of an Investment Model from Simulating a BMTA Electric Bus Fleet with a Validation of Economic Feasibility. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202312.1884.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Wanitanukul, S., Kuskana Kubaha and Roongrojana Songprakorp. 2023 "The Development of an Investment Model from Simulating a BMTA Electric Bus Fleet with a Validation of Economic Feasibility" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202312.1884.v1
Abstract
In Thailand, there are several bus fleets—predominantly diesel buses—which is an internal combustion engine (ICEs) in circulation. These fleets are consumed a lot of energy and cause pollution, especially by emitting GHGs and PM2.5. Battery electric buses (BEBs) have been proposed to address these issues. BEB fleets still have a high initial cost, which is why most fleet governance agencies, such as the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA), are facing investment decisions. This study aims to develop an energy model for the BMTA BEB fleet by using their real operating data. The methodology for the development of the investment model with two steps is described; there is a BMTA bus route analysis step and a fleet management and charging design step. The output is illustrated in terms of the maximum number of BEBs that can be operated on a sample route with the minimum number of chargers. Interesting results were obtained with the first step: Two of the five BMTA bus routes can be changed into BEBs in phases with a limit of 200 kWh for the energy requirements for every two rounds. The results from the second step demonstrated that the maximum number of BEBs for the two routes was 13, with four charger plugs of charger, thus requiring 150 kW per plug. The charging profile peaked at 600 kW from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. These results show the potential of the model for fleet design and investment decisions. The sample results from the models illustrate energy savings and cost evaluations for fleet management and design. Compared with diesel buses, THB 10.44 million per year can be saved in terms of energy costs by using a BEB fleet. An optimization model was used to assess the savings incurred due to the investment cost. More than 37% of the costs were saved. A full economic investigation should be carried out in the future. These results show only the energy used when the fleet has already been transformed into a BEB fleet in phases. The emphasis of battery size investigation and energy used were illustrated. They only depict an economic validation of the model, but do not refer to such projects’ feasibility, and the model has not yet been fully validated.
Keywords
battery electric bus (BEB); energy model; energy saving cost; fleet management and charging system design model; route analysis model; uncertain operating data
Subject
Engineering, Energy and Fuel Technology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
