RESEARCH BRIEF 21 / 30
Economic and resilience appraisal of mixed-energy roadside services
Research question
What is the defensible business case for a roadside facility combining conventional fuel services and future charging infrastructure?
Proposed research protocol
Design a scenario tree for traffic, energy prices, grid connection time, equipment utilization, vehicle mix, outage risk and permitted site functions. Separate construction cost, grid upgrade, operational expenditure and working capital. Document land use, fire safety and licensed fuel handling as separate legal prerequisites not solvable by software alone.
Analytical framework and study design
Estimate unit service cost and net present value under low, central and high utilization rather than assuming nameplate charging capacity becomes paid throughput. Model arrival peaks and queuing, electricity demand charges and backup operation. Explicitly calculate opportunity cost of waiting for improved grid access or alternative technology.
Validation, reporting and acceptance evidence
Report scenario-dependent break-even throughput, outage hours, energy efficiency, capacity factor and a downside cash exposure estimate. Include environmental and customer-safety conditions as hard decision constraints.
Limitations and responsible interpretation
This is a pre-feasibility method, not a permit, pricing offer, operational claim or investment recommendation. Local laws and technical standards dominate implementation.
Methodological references