JP2023135891A - Power generation management system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a power generation management system for suppressing purchase price, when a power generation unit is stopped.SOLUTION: A power generation management system 1 comprises: a power generation unit 20 generating at least power by consuming fuel gas; an operation time determining part 50 determining a continuous operation time showing a continuous operation time of the power generation unit 20; and a stop determining part 70 determining whether or not to stop the power generation unit 20. The power generation management system includes at least any one of a power market unit price, a private power source unit price and a power transaction unit price. Cost per unit power amount required for a power supplier to secure the power for supplying a user having the power generation unit 20 is the power unit price. The stop determining part 70 determines whether or not to stop the power generation unit 20, on the basis of the power unit price, at prescribed control timing of the continuous operation time of a prescribed time or more.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a power generation management system.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a cogeneration system having a fuel cell unit that generates electric power and heat using fuel gas. Here, the gas meter that measures the amount of fuel gas used has a safety function that issues a gas leak warning when it detects that fuel gas continues to flow for a preset period or longer. If the fuel cell unit continues to use fuel gas for a predetermined number of days or more, the gas meter's safety function will issue a gas leak warning even though there is no actual gas leak. Therefore, in order to temporarily interrupt the continuous use of fuel gas, the fuel cell unit is stopped before the continuous operation time of the fuel cell unit reaches the predetermined number of days. In the technology of Patent Document 1, candidates for a time period in which the fuel cell unit can be stopped are extracted from the amount of power consumed during a predetermined period during which fuel gas is continuously flowing, and after the period has elapsed, candidates for the time period in which the fuel cell unit can be stopped are stopped. , stop the fuel cell unit.

Patent No. 4511878

When the power generation unit of the distributed power supply device stops, the power while the power generation unit is stopped needs to be supplied from the power grid. An administrator such as an aggregator that manages the supply and demand of electricity of a consumer having a power generation unit supplies (sells) electricity to the consumer through the power system while the power generation unit is stopped. The manager incurs a certain amount of cost (for example, power unit price) in order to secure power to be supplied to consumers. If the power generation unit stops during a time period when the electricity unit price is high, depending on the degree of increase in the electricity unit price, the manager may have to raise the electricity sales price. In this case, the power generation unit stops during a time period when the electricity unit price is high, which leads to the consumer purchasing expensive electricity. In this way, when the price of electricity purchased by the consumer increases, the benefits of introducing a distributed power supply device are reduced for the consumer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of these problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a power generation management system that can suppress the purchase price of electricity when a power generation unit is stopped.

In order to solve the above problems, the power generation management system of the present invention determines a power generation unit that consumes fuel gas to generate at least electricity, and a continuous operating time that indicates the time that the power generation unit is continuously operating. It is equipped with an operation time judgment unit and a stop judgment unit that judges whether or not to stop the power generation unit, and the price per unit amount of electricity traded in the electricity market is the electricity market unit price, and the demand with the power generation unit is Private power unit price is the cost per unit amount of electricity to generate electricity from a private power source managed by the power supplier that supplies electricity to your home, and it is the cost per unit of electricity that is managed by the power supplier that supplies electricity to your home. The cost per unit of electricity based on the transaction contract is the electricity transaction unit price, which includes at least one of the electricity market unit price, in-house power supply unit price, and electricity transaction unit price, and the cost per unit of electricity based on the transaction contract is The cost per unit amount of electricity required by the supplier to secure is the power unit price, and the stop judgment unit starts the power generation unit based on the power unit price at a predetermined control timing when the continuous operation time is longer than a predetermined time. Determine whether or not to stop it.

Further, the power generation unit and the operating time determining unit are provided in the distributed power supply device, the stop determining unit is provided in the server device that can communicate with the distributed power supply device, and the operating time determining unit determines whether the continuous operating time is a predetermined time. If this is the case, the operation information indicating that the continuous operation time is longer than the predetermined time is transmitted to the server device, and the stop judgment unit stops the power generation unit based on the power unit price in response to receiving the operation information. If it is determined whether or not the power generation unit is to be stopped, a stop command to stop the power generation unit may be transmitted to the distributed power supply device.

In addition, the system has a plurality of distributed power supply devices, and the stop determination unit determines whether to stop the power generation unit based on the power unit price in response to receiving operation information transmitted from one of the plurality of distributed power supply devices. If it is determined that the power generation unit is to be stopped, a stop command may be sent to a plurality of distributed power supply devices.

Further, the power generation unit, the operating time determining section, and the stop determining section may be provided in a distributed power supply device.

Further, the stop determination unit may determine to stop the power generation unit if the power unit price is less than a predetermined reference value at a predetermined control timing when the continuous operating time is longer than a predetermined time.

Further, the stop judgment unit may periodically acquire the power unit price and store it in the storage device, and set the reference value based on the past power unit price stored in the storage device. .

Further, the stoppage determination unit may derive a plurality of predicted values of the future power unit price in association with future dates, and determine that the power generation unit will be stopped on the day corresponding to the lowest predicted value. .

According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the purchase price of electricity when the power generation unit is stopped.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a power generation management system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of operations in the operating time determination section. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation flow of the stop determination section. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating another example of the flow of the operation of the stop determination section. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the operation flow of the stop determination section according to the second embodiment. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a power generation management system according to the third embodiment. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a power generation management system according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of operations of the operating time determining section and the stop determining section according to the fourth embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The dimensions, materials, and other specific numerical values shown in these embodiments are merely illustrative to facilitate understanding of the invention, and do not limit the invention unless otherwise specified. In this specification and the drawings, elements with substantially the same functions and configurations are given the same reference numerals to omit redundant explanation, and elements not directly related to the present invention are omitted from illustration. do.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a power generation management system 1 according to the first embodiment. The power generation management system 1 includes a distributed power supply device 10, a power market 12, a first server device 14, and a second server device 16.

The distributed power supply device 10 is installed, for example, in a building such as a house. Note that the distributed power supply device 10 may be installed across multiple buildings. The distributed power supply device 10 includes a power generation unit 20, a communication device 22, and a control device 24.

The power generation unit 20 consumes fuel gas to generate at least electric power. The fuel gas is, for example, city gas, but is not limited to this example, and may be propane gas, hydrogen gas, or the like. The power generation unit 20 is, for example, a cogeneration unit such as a fuel cell unit that consumes fuel gas to generate electric power and heat. However, the power generation unit 20 is not limited to a cogeneration unit. For example, the power generation unit 20 may be a monogeneration unit that consumes fuel gas to generate electric power, or any device that consumes fuel gas to generate at least electric power.

A conduit 30 is connected to the power generation unit 20 of the distributed power supply device 10, and fuel gas is supplied through the conduit. Note that the conduit 30 may also be connected to other gas equipment in the building where the distributed power supply device 10 is installed. A gas meter 32 is provided in the conduit 30. The gas meter 32 measures the amount of gas used in the building. Note that the gas meter 32 may be a smart meter that digitally measures the measurement target and has a communication function.

The gas meter 32 has a safety function of monitoring the flow of fuel gas within the conduit 30 and detecting leakage of fuel gas (inner pipe leakage). Specifically, when the gas meter 32 detects that the fuel gas continues to flow for a predetermined period of time or more, it issues a notification that the fuel gas is leaking. Hereinafter, such a predetermined period during which leakage is determined may be referred to as a leakage detection period. The leakage detection period is set to, for example, 30 days, but is not limited to this example, and may be set to any period during which leakage can be appropriately detected. Further, the notification method may be to turn on or blink an abnormality lamp, to emit an alarm sound, or to notify by communication.

The power generation unit 20 of the distributed power supply device 10 is electrically connected to a power grid 42 via a power meter 40 and also electrically connected to load equipment 44 . The power meter 40 measures the amount of power received from the power grid 42 . Note that the power meter 40 can also measure the amount of power supplied from the distributed power supply device 10 side to the power system 42 side. Note that the power meter 40 may be a smart meter. The load equipment may be any equipment that consumes power.

The communication device 22 establishes communication with the second server device 16 by wired or wireless communication. As will be described later, since the second server device 16 can communicate with the first server device 14, the communication device 22 can communicate with the first server device 14 via the second server device 16.

The control device 24 is composed of a semiconductor integrated circuit including a central processing unit, a ROM in which programs and the like are stored, and a RAM as a work area. The control device 24 controls the entire distributed power supply device 10 by executing a program. Furthermore, the control device 24 functions as the operating time determining section 50 by executing a program.

The operating time determining unit 50 determines continuous operating time indicating the time during which the power generation unit 20 is continuously operating. The operating time determination unit 50 has a counter that counts continuous operating time. The operating time determination unit 50 will be detailed later.

The electricity market 12 is, for example, the Japan Electric Power Exchange (JEPX). In the electricity market 12, electricity market unit prices (yen/kWh) indicating the price per unit amount of electricity are traded. The electricity market unit price fluctuates in real time.

The first server device 14 is, for example, a server device managed by a higher aggregator out of a higher aggregator and a lower aggregator. The second server device 16 is, for example, a server device managed by a lower aggregator among an upper aggregator and a lower aggregator. A higher-level aggregator can be involved in controlling the distributed power supply device 10 via a lower-level aggregator. The lower-level aggregator controls the distributed power supply device 10 under the instructions of the higher-level aggregator. Note that the term "aggregator" refers to an entity that provides services that manage the supply and demand of electricity for consumers. The administrator of the first server device 14 (for example, a higher-level aggregator) manages the supply and demand of electric power of consumers who have the distributed power supply device 10 (that is, the power generation unit 20).

The first server device 14 includes a communication device 60, a storage device 62, and a control device 64. The communication device 60 establishes communication with the second server device 16 by wired or wireless communication. Since the second server device 16 can communicate with the distributed power supply device 10, the communication device 60 can communicate with the distributed power supply device 10 via the second server device 16. The storage device 62 is a hard disk drive, flash memory, or the like, and is composed of nonvolatile elements. The storage device 62 stores various types of information used by the control device 64.

The control device 64 is composed of a semiconductor integrated circuit including a central processing unit, a ROM in which programs and the like are stored, and a RAM as a work area. The control device 64 controls the entire first server device 14 by executing a program. Furthermore, the control device 64 functions as a stop determination section 70 by executing a program.

Here, it is assumed that the power generation unit 20 of the distributed power supply device 10 stops. In that case, the consumer having the power generation unit 20 will receive power consumed by the load equipment 44 from the power grid 42 while the power generation unit 20 is stopped. At this time, the administrator of the first server device 14 will manage the power supplied from the power system 42 to the customer (that is, the distributed power supply device 10).

That is, the administrator of the first server device 14 secures power to be supplied to the consumer having the power generation unit 20 through the power system 42, and supplies the secured power to the consumer (i.e., the distributed power supply device 10) through the power system 42. ). At this time, the administrator of the first server device 14 will sell the supplied power to the consumer. That is, it can be said that the administrator of the first server device 14 is a power supplier that supplies power to a consumer who has the power generation unit 20, as well as a power seller that sells power to the consumer.

Methods for the administrator of the first server device 14 to secure power include the following three modes (first mode, second mode, and third mode). The administrator of the first server device 14 may secure power by at least one of the first aspect, the second aspect, and the third aspect, or Power may be secured by combining a plurality of these aspects.

The first aspect includes procuring power from the power market 12 and supplying it to consumers. When securing power according to this first aspect, the administrator of the first server device 14 incurs costs equivalent to the power market unit price determined by transactions in the power market 12.

As a second aspect, the administrator of the first server device 14 supplies electric power generated by a private power source independently managed to the consumer. The private power source is a power source managed by an electric power supplier that supplies electric power to a consumer who has the power generation unit 20, and is prepared separately from the power sources of other electric power companies and the distributed power supply device 10 of the consumer. It is a power source. When securing power according to this second aspect, the administrator of the first server device 14 incurs a cost equivalent to the unit price of the private power source, which represents the cost per unit amount of power required for generating electricity with the private power source.

As a third aspect, a transaction contract regarding power interchange is concluded in advance between the administrator of the first server device 14 and another electric power business, and based on this transaction contract, the administrator of the first server device 14 and another electric power business One example is receiving electricity from a consumer and supplying it to a consumer. When securing power according to this third aspect, as the administrator of the first server device 14, the administrator (power supplier) is responsible for the unit based on the power transaction contract concluded with other electric power companies. There is a cost equivalent to the power transaction unit price, which indicates the cost per amount of power.

Taking these three aspects into consideration, the administrator of the first server device 14 can calculate the power unit cost as shown in the following formula (1) in order to secure the power to be supplied to the consumers who have the power generation unit 20. costs. The electric power unit price indicates the cost per unit electric power required for the electric power supplier to secure the electric power to be supplied to the consumer having the power generation unit 20. The power unit price is the sum of the power market unit price, in-house power supply unit price, and power transaction unit price.
Electric power unit price = Electricity market unit price + In-house power supply unit price + Power transaction unit price ... (1)

Note that the power unit price is not limited to the sum of the power market unit price, private power supply unit price, and power transaction unit price. The power unit price may include at least one of a power market unit price, a private power supply unit price, and a power transaction unit price. For example, the power unit price may be equal to the power market unit price, with the in-house power supply unit price and the power transaction unit price omitted. The power unit price may be equal to the private power supply unit price, with the power market unit price and the power transaction unit price omitted. The power unit price may be equal to the power transaction unit price, with the power market unit price and private power supply unit price omitted. The power unit price may be the sum of the power market unit price and the private power supply unit price, with the power transaction unit price omitted. The power unit price may be the sum of the power market unit price and the power transaction unit price, with the private power supply unit price omitted. The power unit price may be the sum of the private power supply unit price and the power transaction unit price, with the power market unit price omitted.

The electricity market unit price fluctuates more than the in-house power supply unit price and the electricity transaction unit price. Therefore, the power unit price is easily affected by fluctuations in the power market unit price.

The private power supply unit price and the power transaction unit price are stored in advance in the storage device 62, for example. The control device 64 determines the current unit price of the private power source every predetermined period such as one week, and stores the determined unit price of the private power source in the storage device 62 to update the unit price of the private power source. Further, the control device 64 updates the power transaction unit price by storing the current power transaction unit price in the storage device 62 every time the power transaction unit price is revised.

Here, if the power generation unit 20 stops during a time period when the electricity unit price (or electricity market unit price) is high, the administrator of the first server device 14 may , the unit sales price of electricity sold to consumers who have the power generation unit 20 will have to be increased. In this case, the consumer having the power generation unit 20 will have to purchase expensive power from the administrator of the first server device 14.

Therefore, at a predetermined control timing when the continuous operating time of the power generation unit 20 is longer than a predetermined time, the stop determination unit 70 determines whether the power generation unit 20 20 is to be stopped. Specifically, the stop determination unit 70 obtains the power market unit price from the power market 12 at a predetermined control timing when the continuous operating time is a predetermined time or more. The outage determining unit 70 derives the power unit price based on the power market unit price. The stop determination unit 70 determines to stop the power generation unit 20 if the power unit price is less than a predetermined reference value. In other words, the stop determination unit 70 determines not to stop the power generation unit 20 if the power unit price is equal to or higher than a predetermined reference value. The predetermined time is set at least to be shorter than the leakage detection period. The predetermined control timing is a timing that occurs at a predetermined control cycle such as every day.

Here, the outage determining unit 70 periodically (for example, daily) acquires the electricity market unit price, and derives the electric power unit price each time it acquires the electricity market unit price. For example, the outage determination unit 70 sums up the acquired electricity market unit price, the private power supply unit price and the electricity transaction unit price stored in the storage device 62, and derives the current electricity unit price. The outage determining unit 70 causes the storage device 62 to store the derived electric power unit price in association with the derivation date of the electric power unit price. The stop determination unit 70 sets the current reference value based on the past power unit price stored in the storage device 62.

Specifically, the outage determination unit 70 sets the average value of the power unit price from the current time to one year ago as the current reference value. Further, the outage determining unit 70 may use the average value of the electricity consumption rate in the same month one year ago as the current reference value. For example, if the current month is May, the average value of the power unit price in May one year ago may be used as the current reference value. Further, the outage determining unit 70 may use the average value of the power unit price from now until one month ago as the current reference value. Further, the outage determining unit 70 may set the current reference value to be a value lower by a predetermined value from the maximum value of the power unit price in the same month one year ago with respect to the current month. Further, the outage determination unit 70 may set the current reference value to a value that is higher by a predetermined value than the minimum value of the power unit price in the same month one year ago with respect to the current month. As mentioned above, any method can be used to set the reference value.

In this way, since the current reference value varies depending on the past performance value of the power unit price, the stoppage determination unit 70 can always set the reference value to an appropriate value. As a result, the stoppage determination unit 70 can appropriately determine whether the current power unit price is relatively low.

Note that the reference value is not limited to a variable value set based on past electric power unit prices. For example, the reference value may be set as a fixed value in advance.

The second server device 16 includes a communication device 80 and a control device 82. The communication device 80 establishes communication with the first server device 14 and the distributed power supply device 10 by wired communication or wireless communication. The communication device 80 transmits information received from the first server device 14 to the distributed power supply device 10, and also transmits information received from the distributed power supply device 10 to the first server device 14.

The control device 82 is composed of a semiconductor integrated circuit including a central processing unit, a ROM in which programs and the like are stored, and a RAM as a work area. The control device 82 controls the entire second server device 16 by executing a program.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of operations in the operating time determining section 50. The operating time determination unit 50 repeats the series of processes shown in FIG. 2 at each predetermined control timing that occurs in a predetermined control cycle. The predetermined control period is, for example, every day, but is not limited to this example, and can be arbitrarily set, for example, every hour.

When a predetermined control timing arrives, the operating time determination unit 50 increments the count value of a counter that counts continuous operating time (S10). Next, the operating time determining unit 50 determines whether the count value is less than or equal to a predetermined upper limit threshold (S11). If the leakage detection period is 30 days, the predetermined upper limit threshold is set to, for example, 26 days. Note that the predetermined upper limit threshold is not limited to this example, and may be set to any time (number of days) shorter than the leakage detection period.

If the count value is greater than or equal to the upper limit threshold (YES in S11), the operating time determination unit 50 stops the operation of the power generation unit 20 (S12). As a result, the supply of fuel gas to the power generation unit 20 is stopped. Since the flow of fuel gas is temporarily stopped before reaching the leakage detection period, it is possible to avoid unintended notification by the safety function of the gas meter 32.

After step S12, the operating time determination unit 50 resets the count value (S13), and ends the series of processes. Thereby, when the power generation unit 20 is restarted, the count value is counted from the initial value.

Here, in the safety function of the gas meter 32, when the non-use time during which fuel gas is not flowing through the gas meter 32 exceeds a predetermined reference time, the duration of leakage detection is reset. This predetermined reference time is set to, for example, 12 hours. Therefore, the control device 24 of the distributed power supply device 10 maintains the power generation unit 20 stopped for at least a longer time than the reference time. Then, the control device 24 restarts the power generation unit 20 after the non-use time during which fuel gas is not flowing through the gas meter 32 has elapsed. Note that if the fuel gas is used in another gas appliance while the power generation unit 20 is stopped, the control device 24 determines the reference period of non-use after the end of the use of the fuel gas in the other gas appliance. After a longer period of time, the power generation unit 20 is restarted.

In step S11, if the count value is less than the upper limit threshold (NO in S11), the operating time determination unit 50 determines whether the count value is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold (S14). This predetermined threshold value is set to a value smaller than the upper limit threshold value in step S11. For example, if the upper limit threshold in step S11 is 26 days, the predetermined threshold in step S14 is set to 21 days, etc. Note that the predetermined threshold value is not limited to this example, and may be set to any time (number of days) shorter than the upper limit threshold value.

If the count value is less than the predetermined threshold (NO in S14), the operating time determination unit 50 ends the series of processes. If the count value is greater than or equal to the predetermined threshold (YES in S14), the operating time determination unit 50 transmits operating information indicating that the continuous operating time is greater than or equal to the predetermined time to the second server device 16 via the communication device 22. (S15), the series of processing ends. When the second server device 16 receives the operating information from the distributed power supply device 10, it transmits the operating information to the first server device 14.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation flow of the stop determination section 70. The stop determination unit 70 executes the series of processes shown in FIG. 3 when a predetermined interrupt timing that occurs in a predetermined control cycle comes.

When the predetermined interrupt timing comes, the stop determination unit 70 determines whether operating information has been received (S20). If the operation information has not been received (NO in S20), the stop determination unit 70 ends the series of processes.

When the operation information is received (YES in S20), the stoppage determination unit 70 acquires the power market unit price from the power market 12 (S21). The outage determination unit 70 reads the private power supply unit price and the power transaction unit price from the storage device 62, sums the read private power supply unit price, the read power transaction unit price, and the acquired power market unit price to derive the power unit price. (S22) Next, the stop determination unit 70 sets a current reference value based on the past electric power unit price stored in the storage device 62 (S23).

Next, the stop determination unit 70 determines whether the power unit price is less than the reference value (S24). The process in step S24 corresponds to determining whether to stop the power generation unit 20 based on the power unit price. If the power unit price is equal to or greater than the reference value (NO in S24), the stop determination unit 70 ends the series of processing. That is, while the electric power unit price is equal to or higher than the reference value, the stop determination unit 70 stands by.

If the power unit price is less than the reference value (YES in S24), that is, if it is determined that the power generation unit 20 is to be stopped, the stop determination unit 70 sends a stop command to stop the power generation unit 20 via the communication device 60. 2 server device 16 (S25). When the second server device 16 receives the stop command from the first server device 14, it transmits the stop command to the distributed power supply device 10.

When the operating time determination unit 50 of the distributed power supply device 10 receives the stop command, it stops the power generation unit 20 and resets the count value. Thereby, when the power generation unit 20 is restarted, the count value is counted from the initial value.

Note that the operating time determining unit 50 transmits operating information when the count value is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold and less than the upper limit threshold, and the stop determining unit 70 transmits operating information when the count value is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold and less than the upper limit threshold, and when the stop determining unit 70 receives the operating information, the unit electricity price is equal to or greater than the reference value. If so, you will have to wait. In this case, the operating time determination unit 50 transmits operating information again when the count value becomes equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold and less than the upper limit threshold again at the next control timing. Then, if the power unit price is less than the reference value at the timing when the retransmitted operation information is received, the stop determination unit 70 transmits a stop command at this timing. In other words, while the count value satisfies the condition that the count value is greater than or equal to the predetermined threshold and less than the upper limit threshold, the operating time determination unit 50 transmits the operating information at every predetermined control cycle until receiving the stop command from the first server device 14. repeat. Each time the operation information is received, the stop determination unit 70 determines whether or not the power unit price is less than the reference value, and transmits a stop command at the timing when the power unit price becomes less than the reference value.

As described above, in the power generation management system 1 of the first embodiment, when the continuous operation time of the power generation unit 20 is longer than a predetermined time, it is determined whether or not to stop the power generation unit 20 based on the power unit price. It will be done. Specifically, the stop determination unit 70 determines whether or not to stop the power generation unit 20 based on the power unit price in response to receiving the operating information. The stop determination unit 70 determines to stop the power generation unit 20 if the power unit price is less than a predetermined reference value. Since the power generation unit 20 is stopped at the timing when the power unit price is less than the reference value, in the power generation management system 1 of the first embodiment, while the power generation unit 20 is stopped, the power supplier It becomes possible to set the unit price of electricity sold by the company to a unit price based on the unit price of electricity that is less than the standard value.

Therefore, according to the power generation management system 1 of the first embodiment, the power purchased by the consumer when the power generation unit 20 is stopped can be purchased while avoiding unintended notification by the security function of the gas meter 32. It becomes possible to suppress prices.

Note that the first server device 14 and the distributed power supply device 10 of the first embodiment communicated via the second server device 16. However, the second server device 16 may be omitted and the first server device 14 and the distributed power supply device 10 may directly communicate with each other.

Further, in the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, when the count value is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the operating time determination unit 50 transmits operating information indicating that the continuous operating time is equal to or greater than the predetermined time. was. However, the operating time determination unit 50 may transmit the count value that is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value to the first server device 14 via the second server device 16 as operating information. In that case, when receiving operation information indicating a count value that is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the stoppage determination unit 70 of the first server device 14 performs the processing from step S21 onwards to obtain the electricity market unit price shown in FIG. It's okay. In addition, in FIG. 2, when the count value is less than the upper limit threshold (NO in S11), the operating time determination unit 50 omits the process of step S14 for determining whether the count value is greater than or equal to the predetermined threshold, and The value may be sent to the first server device 14 via the second server device 16 . In that case, the stop determination unit 70 of the first server device 14 may determine whether the count value has been received, and upon receiving the count value, may determine whether the count value is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. Then, when the count value is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold value, the stop determination unit 70 may perform the processing from step S21 onward to obtain the electricity market unit price shown in FIG. 3.

(Modified example of the first embodiment)
In the first embodiment, it was determined whether to stop the power generation unit 20 based on the power unit price. However, the stop determination unit 70 may determine whether to stop the power generation unit 20 based on the power market unit price indicating the price per unit amount of power traded in the power market 12.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating another example of the flow of the operation of the stop determination section 70. As in the example of FIG. 3, the stop determination unit 70 determines whether operating information has been received at a predetermined interrupt timing (S20), and if operating information has been received (YES in S20), the power market 12 to obtain the electricity market unit price.

Next, the outage determination unit 70 sets a current reference value based on the past electricity market unit price stored in the storage device 62 (S23a).

Specifically, the outage determination unit 70 sets the average value of the electricity market unit price from the present to one year ago as the current reference value. Further, the outage determination unit 70 may use the average value of the electricity market unit price in the same month one year ago as the current reference value. For example, if the current time is May, the average value of the electricity market unit price in May one year ago may be used as the current reference value. Further, the outage determination unit 70 may use the average value of the electricity market unit prices from now until one month ago as the current reference value. Further, the outage determination unit 70 may set the current reference value to a value lower by a predetermined value from the maximum value of the electricity market unit price in the same month one year ago with respect to the current month. Further, the outage determining unit 70 may set the current reference value to a value higher by a predetermined value than the minimum value of the electricity market unit price in the same month one year ago with respect to the current month. As mentioned above, any method can be used to set the reference value.

Next, the stoppage determination unit 70 determines whether the electricity market unit price is less than the reference value (S24a). The process in step S24a corresponds to determining whether to stop the power generation unit 20 based on the electricity market unit price. If the electricity market unit price is equal to or greater than the reference value (NO in S24a), the stop determination unit 70 ends the series of processes. That is, while the electricity market unit price is equal to or higher than the reference value, the stop determination unit 70 stands by.

If the electricity market unit price is less than the reference value (YES in S24a), that is, if it is determined that the power generation unit 20 is to be stopped, the stop determination unit 70 sends a stop command to stop the power generation unit 20 via the communication device 60. 2 server device 16 (S25). When the second server device 16 receives the stop command from the first server device 14, it transmits the stop command to the distributed power supply device 10. As a result, the power generation unit 20 is stopped.

In this modified example, while the power generation unit 20 is stopped, the unit sales price of electricity that the power supplier sells to the consumer who has the power generation unit 20 can be set to a unit price based on the power market unit price that is less than the standard value. Become. Therefore, according to this modification, as in the first embodiment, the safety function of the gas meter 32 prevents unintended notification from being made, and the consumer purchases the electricity when the power generation unit 20 is stopped. It becomes possible to suppress the purchase price of electricity.

(Second embodiment)
The stop determination unit 70 of the first embodiment stops the power generation unit 20 when the current power unit price derived from the current power market unit price obtained from the power market 12 is less than the reference value. On the other hand, the outage determining unit 70 of the second embodiment derives a plurality of predicted values of future electric power unit prices in association with future dates. The plurality of future dates here are set, for example, to a period from the present to a date corresponding to the upper limit threshold of the continuous operation time of the power generation unit 20. Note that the plurality of future dates may be set to a period up to a date corresponding to the end of the leakage detection period. For convenience, a plurality of future dates will be explained below as dates up to one week from now.

Here, the storage device 62 of the first server device 14 stores a plurality of pieces of teacher data for predicting the future power unit price. The training data includes, for example, the past electricity unit price, the date (day of the week, holiday) when the electricity unit price was derived, the weather (or sunshine hours) when the electricity unit price was derived, the temperature when the electricity unit price was derived, etc. is the associated data. Date, weather, and temperature affect electricity consumption and are therefore considered to be related to the electricity market unit price, which in turn is related to the electricity unit price.

The stop determination unit 70 performs machine learning using the above-mentioned teacher data and generates a predetermined machine learning model. The machine learning model outputs a predicted value of the electricity consumption rate corresponding to the input date, weather, and temperature.

The outage determination unit 70 acquires the daily weather and predicted average temperature for one week ahead, which are the source data for predicting the power unit price, from a weather forecast or the like. The outage determination unit 70 inputs the date, weather, and expected average temperature for each day from now until one week ahead into a predetermined machine learning model, and predicts the power unit price for each day from now until one week ahead. Get the value. As a result, seven predicted values from now to one week ahead are obtained.

Then, the stop determination unit 70 of the second embodiment determines to stop the power generation unit 20 on the day corresponding to the lowest predicted value among the plurality of predicted values. For example, if the predicted value of the electricity unit price on the third day is the lowest among the predicted values of the electricity unit price for each day from now until one week ahead, the stop judgment unit 70 will stop the power generation unit 20 after three days. I decide to let it happen.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the operation flow of the stop determination unit 70 according to the second embodiment. The stop determination unit 70 of the second embodiment executes the series of processes shown in FIG. 5 when a predetermined interrupt timing occurs in a predetermined control cycle.

When the predetermined interrupt timing comes, the stop determination unit 70 determines whether operating information has been received (S30). If the operation information has not been received (NO in S30), the stop determination unit 70 ends the series of processes.

When the operation information is received (YES in S30), the stop determination unit 70 generates a machine learning model based on the teacher data stored in the storage device 62 (S31). Next, the stoppage determination unit 70 acquires original data such as the weather and expected average temperature for the period to be predicted (S32). Next, the stoppage determination unit 70 inputs the date, weather, and expected average temperature of the period to be predicted into the machine learning model, and derives a predicted value of the power unit price (S33).

Next, the stop determination unit 70 acquires the date when the predicted value is the lowest among the plurality of derived predicted values (S34). Next, the stop determination unit 70 reserves the transmission of the stop command on the acquired date (S35), and ends the series of processes. Thereby, the stop determination unit 70 transmits a stop command to the second server device 16 through the communication device 60 when the reserved date arrives. Upon receiving the stop command, the second server device 16 transmits the stop command to the distributed power supply device 10 . The operating time determination unit 50 of the distributed power supply device 10 stops the power generation unit 20 at the timing of receiving the stop command and resets the count value.

As described above, in the power generation management system 1 of the second embodiment, the power generation unit 20 can be stopped at the timing when the electricity unit price is predicted to be the lowest. Therefore, in the power generation management system 1 of the second embodiment, it is possible to further suppress the purchase price of electricity purchased by the consumer when the power generation unit 20 is stopped.

(Modified example of second embodiment)
In the second embodiment, it was determined that a plurality of predicted values of the future power unit price are derived in association with future dates, and the power generation unit 20 is to be stopped on the day corresponding to the lowest predicted value. However, the stop determination unit 70 may derive a plurality of predicted values of the future electricity market unit price in association with future dates, and may determine to stop the power generation unit 20 on the day corresponding to the lowest predicted value. .

For example, the storage device 62 of the first server device 14 stores a plurality of pieces of teacher data for predicting future electricity market unit prices. The training data includes, for example, the past electricity market unit price, the date (day of the week, holiday) when the electricity market unit price was obtained, the weather (or sunshine hours) when the electricity market unit price was obtained, the temperature when the electricity market unit price was obtained, etc. is the associated data.

The stop determination unit 70 performs machine learning using the above-mentioned teacher data and generates a predetermined machine learning model. The machine learning model outputs a predicted value of the electricity market unit price corresponding to the input date, weather, and temperature.

The outage determination unit 70 acquires the daily weather and predicted average temperature for one week ahead, which are the source data for predicting the electricity market unit price, from a weather forecast or the like. The outage determination unit 70 inputs the date, weather, and expected average temperature for each day from now until one week ahead into a predetermined machine learning model, and predicts the daily power market unit price from now until one week ahead. Get the value. As a result, seven predicted values from now to one week ahead are obtained.

Then, the stop determination unit 70 determines that the power generation unit 20 is to be stopped on the day corresponding to the lowest predicted value among the plurality of predicted values. For example, if the predicted value of the electricity market unit price on the third day is the lowest among the predicted values of the electricity unit price for each day from now until one week ahead, the stop judgment unit 70 will stop the power generation unit 20 after three days. I decide to let it happen.

In this modification, the power generation unit 20 can be stopped at the timing when the electricity market unit price is predicted to be the lowest. According to this modification, similarly to the second embodiment, it is possible to further suppress the purchase price of electricity purchased by the consumer when the power generation unit 20 is stopped.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a power generation management system 100 according to the third embodiment. The power generation management system 100 of the third embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that it includes a plurality of distributed power supplies 10. In FIG. 6, two distributed power supply devices 10 are illustrated, but the number of distributed power supply devices 10 is not limited to two, and three or more distributed power supply devices 10 may be provided.

The stop determination unit 70 of the first server device 14 of the third embodiment stops the power generation unit 20 based on the power unit price in response to receiving operation information transmitted from one of the plurality of distributed power supplies 10. The decision is made as to whether or not to do so. That is, in the third embodiment, when the continuous operating time of any one of the plurality of distributed power supplies 10 becomes longer than a predetermined time, it is determined whether or not to stop the power generation unit 20.

Then, when determining that the power generation unit 20 is to be stopped, the stop determination unit 70 transmits a stop command to the plurality of distributed power supply devices 10 . That is, in the second embodiment, a plurality of distributed power supplies 10 are stopped all at once at the same timing.

Therefore, in the power generation management system 100 of the third embodiment, it is possible to reduce the processing load on the stop determination unit 70 compared to a mode in which the distributed power supply devices 10 are stopped individually.

Further, in the third embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, it is possible to suppress the purchase price of electricity purchased by the consumer when the power generation unit 20 is stopped.

Note that the features of the second embodiment may be combined with the third embodiment. Specifically, the shutdown determination unit 70 derives a predicted value of the future electric power unit price, and issues a shutdown command to the plurality of distributed power supply devices 10 on the day corresponding to the lowest predicted value among the plurality of predicted values. You can also send it. Moreover, the features of the modified example of the first embodiment may be combined with the third embodiment, and the features of the modified example of the second embodiment may be combined with the third embodiment.

(Fourth embodiment)
FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a power generation management system 200 according to the fourth embodiment. In the first embodiment described above, the stop determination unit 70 was provided in the first server device 14. On the other hand, in the fourth embodiment, the first server device 14 and the second server device 16 are omitted, and a stop determination unit 270 is provided in the distributed power supply device 10. The control device 24 of the distributed power supply device 10 of the fourth embodiment functions as the operating time determining section 50 and also functions as the stop determining section 270.

The stop determination unit 270 of the fourth embodiment acquires the power market unit price from the power market 12 at a predetermined control timing when the continuous operating time is a predetermined time or more. The outage determination unit 270 derives the power unit price based on the acquired power market unit price. The stop determination unit 270 determines to stop the power generation unit 20 if the power unit price is less than a predetermined reference value.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of operations of the operating time determining section 50 and the stop determining section 270 according to the fourth embodiment. Steps S10 to S14 in FIG. 8 are the same as steps S10 to S14 in FIG. FIG. 8 differs from FIG. 2 in the processing after step S14 is YES. Further, the operating time determining unit 50 starts the series of processes shown in FIG. 8 at each predetermined control timing that occurs in a predetermined control cycle.

In step S14, if the count value is greater than or equal to the predetermined threshold (YES in S14), that is, if the continuous operating time is greater than or equal to the predetermined time, the outage determination unit 270 obtains the electricity market unit price from the electricity market 12 (S40). ). The outage determining unit 270 reads the private power supply unit price and the power transaction unit price from the storage device 62, and derives the electric power unit price by summing the read private power supply unit price, the read power transaction unit price, and the acquired power market unit price. (S41) Next, the stop determination unit 270 sets a current reference value based on the past electric power unit price stored in the storage device 62 (S42).

Next, the stop determination unit 270 determines whether the power unit price is less than the reference value (S43). If the power unit price is equal to or greater than the reference value (NO in S43), the stop determination unit 270 ends the series of processing.

If the power unit price is less than the reference value (YES in S43), the stop determination unit 270 determines to stop the power generation unit 20, and the control device 24 thereby stops the power generation unit 20 (S44). Then, the stop determination unit 270 resets the count value (S45) and ends the series of processing.

As described above, in the power generation management system 200 of the fourth embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, when the continuous operation time is longer than a predetermined time, whether or not to stop the power generation unit 20 based on the power unit price is determined. A judgment will be made.

Therefore, in the power generation management system 200 of the fourth embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, it is possible to suppress the purchase price of electricity purchased by the consumer when the power generation unit 20 is stopped.

Note that the features of the second embodiment may be combined with the fourth embodiment. Specifically, the shutdown determination unit 270 of the distributed power supply device 10 derives a predicted value of the future electric power unit price, and stops the power generation unit 20 on the day corresponding to the lowest predicted value among the plurality of predicted values. You may decide to do so. Moreover, the features of the modification of the first embodiment may be combined with the fourth embodiment, and the features of the modification of the second embodiment may be combined with the fourth embodiment.

Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. It is clear that those skilled in the art can come up with various changes and modifications within the scope of the claims, and these naturally fall within the technical scope of the present invention. Understood.

For example, in each of the embodiments and modifications described above, the power unit price is the sum of the power market unit price, private power supply unit price, and power transaction unit price. However, if power from a private power source is not used to secure power, the unit price of the private power source does not need to be included in the unit price of electricity. Similarly, if power based on a transaction contract with another power company is not used to secure power, the power transaction unit price does not need to be included in the power unit price. That is, the power unit price may be equal to the power market unit price.

1, 100, 200 Power generation management system 10 Distributed power supply device 12 Power market 14 First server device 20 Power generation unit 50 Operating time judgment section 70, 270 Stop judgment section

Claims (7)

a power generation unit that consumes fuel gas to generate at least electricity;
an operating time determination unit that determines a continuous operating time indicating the time during which the power generation unit is continuously operating;
a stop determination unit that determines whether to stop the power generation unit;
Equipped with
The price per unit amount of electricity traded in the electricity market is the electricity market unit price,
The cost per unit amount of electricity required to generate electricity with a private power source managed by a power supplier that supplies electricity to a consumer having the power generation unit is a private power unit price,
The cost per unit amount of electricity based on a power transaction contract concluded by the power supplier with another power company is the power transaction unit price,
A cost per unit power amount required by the power supplier to secure power to be supplied to a consumer having the power generation unit, including at least one of the power market unit price, the in-house power supply unit price, and the power transaction unit price. is the power unit price,
The stop determination unit is
A power generation management system that determines whether or not to stop the power generation unit based on the electric power unit price at a predetermined control timing when the continuous operation time is a predetermined time or more. The power generation unit and the operating time determination section are provided in a distributed power supply device,
The stop determination unit is provided in a server device that can communicate with the distributed power supply device,
When the continuous operating time is a predetermined time or more, the operating time determination unit transmits operating information indicating that the continuous operating time is a predetermined time or more to the server device,
The stop determination unit determines whether or not to stop the power generation unit based on the power unit price in response to receiving the operation information, and when it is determined to stop the power generation unit, stops the power generation unit. The power generation management system according to claim 1, wherein a stop command to stop the power generation is sent to the distributed power supply device. having a plurality of the distributed power supply devices,
The stop determination unit determines whether or not to stop the power generation unit based on the power unit price in response to receiving the operation information transmitted from any of the plurality of distributed power supply devices, and The power generation management system according to claim 2, wherein when it is determined that the power generation unit is to be stopped, the stop command is transmitted to the plurality of distributed power supply devices. The power generation management system according to claim 1, wherein the power generation unit, the operating time determination section, and the stop determination section are provided in a distributed power supply device. 5. The power generation unit according to claim 1, wherein the stop determination unit determines to stop the power generation unit if the power unit price is less than a predetermined reference value at a predetermined control timing when the continuous operation time is a predetermined time or more. The power generation management system according to any one of the items. The stop determination unit is
The electricity unit price is periodically acquired and stored in a storage device,
The power generation management system according to claim 5, wherein the reference value is set based on the past electric power unit price stored in the storage device. 1 . The stoppage determination unit derives a plurality of predicted values of the future electric power unit price in association with future dates, and determines to stop the power generation unit on a day corresponding to the lowest predicted value. 2 . The power generation management system according to any one of 4 to 4.

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