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Several European countries have launched programs to increase the penetration of battery electric vehicles. In this work, a novel electric vehicle charging model is used in a high spatial and temporal resolution optimal power flow simulation framework to assess the impacts of increased penetration of electric vehicles on the central European power system. In 2030, electric vehicles are found to have only a moderate impact on reducing the curtailment of wind and solar power. The energy to charge the electric vehicles comes mainly from conventional power plants (coal and gas), whereas solar and wind power plants each provide only 4%. Consequently, the increased penetration of electric vehicles is found to result in an increase in CO2 emissions of up to 25% compared to the same number of gasoline vehicles.

As the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme has, up to date, had little impact on the reduction of CO2 emissions in Europe, direct carbon taxes have been proposed. In this work, high spatial and temporal resolution optimal power flow simulations are conducted to assess the impact of carbon taxes on the inter-connected power system in central Europe. As both individual transmission lines and individual power plants are modeled, this work provides new insights into effects within the European power market. A carbon price of 40 €/tCO2 or more is shown to be necessary in 2030 to achieve the EU emissions targets. This tax burden is borne mainly by Poland and the Czech Republic, who lose more than 2bn € annually in power exports. Consumers in Switzerland face the highest increases in electricity prices, despite consuming very carbon-friendly electricity.