Virtual power plant formation control system and formation control method

Abstract

To further ensure the balance between the supply and demand of electric power by efficiently utilizing various omnipresent energy resources to form a virtual power plant, regardless of an urban area and the peripheral area.SOLUTION: A virtual power plant formation control system in which a plurality of energy resources owned by a plurality of consumers and dispersed throughout the country are integrated and controlled via a network to function as if they were a single power plant, comprises: an attribute storage unit that stores attribute information which includes information indicating power use situations of the plurality of consumers; and an integration control unit that selectively integrates energy resources from among the plurality of energy resources on the basis of the attribute information, and controls the integrated energy resources depending on a demand response.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a formation control system and a formation control method for a virtual power plant. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, in order to realize a more stable and less wasteful power system, development has been progressing on virtual power plants (VPPs) that integrate and control various energy resources owned by consumers, such as distributed power sources and power storage facilities, and function as if they were a single power plant (see Patent Document 1). By forming a virtual power plant, it becomes possible to adjust the balance of supply and demand for electricity through demand response such as up DR (Demand Response) and down DR, instead of adjusting the output of large-scale power plants such as thermal power plants as has been done in the past. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-108301 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Comparing the formation of a virtual power plant in an urban area with the formation of a virtual power plant in a surrounding area surrounding the urban area, urban areas are often able to form a virtual power plant efficiently because they are rich in various types of energy resources such as power generation facilities and storage facilities, whereas surrounding areas are often biased toward certain types of energy resources (such as solar power generation facilities), making it difficult to form a virtual power plant. As a result, the current situation is that energy resources available in the surrounding area are not being effectively utilized as targets for virtual power plants.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a virtual power plant formation control system and a formation control method thereof that forms a virtual power plant by efficiently utilizing various energy resources that are ubiquitous, regardless of whether it is an urban area or a surrounding area, and further ensures the balance between power supply and demand. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention, which is the main object of solving the above-mentioned problems, is a formation control system for a virtual power plant that integrates and controls a plurality of energy resources owned by a plurality of consumers and distributed in various locations via a network, and functions as if they were a single power plant, and information indicating a power grid to which the plurality of energy resources are connected, and information indicating a geographical location of the plurality of energy resources and an integrated control unit that selectively integrates energy resources from among the plurality of energy resources based on the attribute information and controls the integrated energy resources in response to demand response. The integration control unit selectively integrates the energy resources by prioritizing information indicating the power usage status of the plurality of consumers and information indicating a power system to which the plurality of energy resources are connected over information indicating the geographical locations of the plurality of energy resources. do. Other features of the present invention will become apparent from the accompanying drawings and the description of this specification. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to form a virtual power plant by efficiently utilizing various energy resources that are ubiquitous, regardless of whether they are in an urban area or a surrounding area, and to more reliably balance the supply and demand of electricity. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an overall view for explaining the formation of a virtual power plant according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2]FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functions of an aggregator server. [Figure 3A] 11 is a diagram showing an example of table data of attribute information A stored in an attribute storage unit. FIG. [Figure 3B] 13 is a diagram showing an example of table data of attribute information B stored in an attribute storage unit. FIG. [Figure 3C] 13 is a diagram showing an example of table data of attribute information C stored in an attribute storage unit. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a power system. [Diagram 5] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation of an integrated control unit when forming a virtual power plant. [Figure 6] 11 is a flowchart showing an example of an automated demand response flow. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] At least the following will become apparent from the description of this specification and the accompanying drawings.

[0010] FIG. 1 is an overall diagram for explaining the formation of a virtual power plant according to this embodiment. The virtual power plant is operated by an aggregator. In this embodiment, the aggregator is a general term for a resource aggregator and an aggregation coordinator, and may refer to either the resource aggregator or the aggregation coordinator, or both. The resource aggregator controls the energy resources based on a contract with each consumer who owns the energy resources. The aggregation coordinator bundles the amount of power controlled by each resource aggregator, and trades power with a general power transmission and distribution business operator and a retail electricity business operator. In this embodiment, the general power transmission and distribution business operator and the retail electricity business operator are collectively referred to as an electricity business operator. Therefore, the electricity business operator may refer to either the general power transmission and distribution business operator and the retail electricity business operator, or both. In this embodiment, for example, it is assumed that a management area 10 in which a virtual power plant is to be formed is determined by an aggregator. In this management area 10, a variety of energy resources, such as energy generation, energy storage, and energy saving, owned by a plurality of consumers are distributed and installed. The scale of the management area 10 may be a relatively small one, such as a city, ward, town, or village, or a relatively large one, such as one spanning prefectures.

[0011] The management area 10 is roughly divided into, for example, an urban area 10A and a surrounding area 10B surrounding the urban area 10A. In the urban area 10A, commercial facilities and industrial facilities for economic activities are concentrated, and many energy resources 20 are installed in a concentrated manner. On the other hand, in the surrounding area 10B, there tends to be more houses than facilities for economic activities, and the energy resources 20 are installed in a smaller number than in the urban area 10A. Note that a plurality of energy resources distributed in the urban area 10A is referred to as 20A, and a plurality of energy resources distributed in the surrounding area 10B is referred to as 20B. These energy resources 20A and 20B are connected to a power grid, but are selectively integrated to be communicable via a network 30 such as IoT according to an instruction from an aggregator server 50 described later.

[0012] The virtual power plant is formed by integrating, via a network 30, the energy resources 20A and 20B (e.g., within the bold frame marked "VPP" in FIG. 1) that correspond to predetermined attributes of multiple consumers and the energy resources 20A and 20B from among the energy resources 20A and 20B in the management area 10, regardless of whether it is an urban area 10A or a surrounding area 10B. The virtual power plant formed in this way operates to intentionally increase or decrease the amount of demand for electricity in response to demand responses such as up-DR and down-DR that occur according to the amount of electricity supply at that time, so as to contribute to balancing the amount of electricity demand by consumers with the amount of electricity supply. In other words, the virtual power plant functions as a virtual power plant.

[0013] The energy resources 20A, 20B are connected to a relay system 40 (also called a power management system) that relays communications between a GW (gateway), HEMS (Home Energy Management System), BEMS (Building Energy Management System), FEMS (Factory Energy Management System), etc. so that a virtual power plant can be formed through a network 30. Furthermore, the energy resources 20A, 20B are communicatively connected to an aggregator server 50 via the relay system 40 and the network 30 to integrate the energy resources 20A, 20B and thereby form a virtual power plant.

[0014] Demand response is a demand response command for changing the power demand pattern by controlling the power demand by the multiple energy resources 20A and 20B forming the virtual power plant so that the power supply and the power demand by the consumer are balanced. There are two types of demand response: up DR and down DR. Up DR is a command for increasing the power demand (consumption) by the multiple energy resources 20A and 20B in the virtual power plant when the power demand is less than the power supply. For example, when there is a risk that the power supply by a photovoltaic power generation system connected to the power grid will be oversupplied due to the influence of fine weather, an up DR is generated. For example, when the energy resources 20A and 20B forming the virtual power plant include a storage battery (storage energy resource), the demand for the storage battery is increased to charge the storage battery with the amount of power that would be oversupplied. On the other hand, down DR is a command for decreasing the power demand by the multiple energy resources 20A and 20B in the virtual power plant when the power demand is greater than the power supply. For example, when there is a high demand for air conditioners and the like during a heatwave and there is a risk of a shortage in the supply of electricity, a down DR is generated to reduce the demand for any of the energy resources 20A, 20B in the virtual power plant. In this way, changing the demand pattern of the multiple energy resources 20A, 20B in the virtual power plant can contribute to balancing the supply and demand of electricity.

[0015] The energy generating resource, which is one type of the energy resources 20A and 20B, is a resource that generates electricity, and examples thereof include a photovoltaic power generation system, a cogeneration system, a system that utilizes renewable energy heat (geothermal heat, solar heat, snow and ice heat, etc.), and a fuel cell vehicle. The energy storage resource, which is another type of the energy resources 20A and 20B, is a resource that stores electric energy, and examples thereof include a home storage battery, a system storage battery, and a heat pump water heater. The energy saving resource, which is another type of the energy resources 20A and 20B, is a resource that saves electricity, and examples thereof include a business / industrial EMS (Energy Management System), IoT-based lighting fixtures, air conditioning equipment, and refrigeration equipment. The virtual power plant is formed by selectively integrating the energy generating resource, the energy storage resource, and the energy saving resource included in these multiple energy resources 20A and 20B based on the attributes of multiple consumers and the multiple energy resources 20A and 20B.

[0016] The aggregator server 50 is a server managed by an aggregator. As described above, the aggregator is a general term for a resource aggregator and an aggregation coordinator, so there are servers managed by resource aggregators (also referred to as resource aggregator servers) and servers managed by aggregation coordinators (also referred to as aggregation coordinator servers), but in this embodiment, the resource aggregator servers and aggregation coordinator servers are collectively referred to as the aggregator server 50. The aggregator server 50 is configured by a computer as hardware, and various functions as the aggregator server 50 are realized by software processing of the computer.

[0017] The electric utility server 60 is a server managed by an electric utility. As described above, the electric utility is a general term for the general electricity transmission and distribution utility and the retail electricity utility, and therefore includes a server managed by the general electricity transmission and distribution utility (also referred to as the general electricity transmission and distribution utility server) and a server managed by the retail electricity utility (also referred to as the retail electricity utility server). In this embodiment, the general electricity transmission and distribution utility server and the retail electricity utility server are collectively referred to as the electric utility server 60. The electric utility server 60 generates a demand response to the aggregator server 50, and receives the result of controlling the operation of the energy resources 20A and 20B according to the demand response from the aggregator server 50. The electric utility server 60 is configured by a computer as hardware, and realizes various functions as the electric utility server 60 by software processing of the computer.

[0018] The aggregator server 50 selectively integrates multiple energy resources 20A, 20B installed within the management area 10, regardless of whether it is an urban area 10A or a surrounding area 10B, via the network 30 based on multiple consumers who own the energy resources 20A, 20B and predetermined attributes of the energy resources 20A, 20B, thereby forming a virtual power plant.

[0019] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functions of the aggregator server 50. As shown in FIG. The aggregator server 50 includes, as means for forming a virtual power plant, an attribute storage unit 510 and an integrated control unit 520. The aggregator server 50 is configured as hardware using a computer, similar to the electric utility server 60, and realizes the functions of the attribute storage unit 510 and the integrated control unit 520 through software processing of the computer.

[0020] The attribute storage unit 510 stores in advance attribute information that is the basis for the integrated control unit 520 to selectively integrate the multiple energy resources 20A, 20B. For example, the attribute information includes, for the multiple energy resources 20A, 20B that are distributed and installed in the management area 10, attribute information A indicating the power usage status of multiple consumers who own these energy resources 20A, 20B, attribute information B indicating the power system to which the multiple energy resources 20A, 20B are connected, and attribute information C indicating the geographical positions of the multiple energy resources 20A, 20B. The attribute storage unit 510 is configured using hardware such as a hard disk or a semiconductor nonvolatile memory, and is capable of functions such as referring to and updating the attribute information by software processing.

[0021] Fig. 3A shows an example of table data of attribute information A stored in attribute storage unit 510. Fig. 3B shows an example of table data of attribute information B stored in attribute storage unit 510. Fig. 3C shows an example of table data of attribute information C stored in attribute storage unit 510.

[0022] The attribute information A is, for example, information that captures the power consumption (power consumption curve) for each predetermined time in one day of each of multiple consumers who own the energy resources 20A and 20B as the power usage status. The predetermined time may be, for example, 15 minutes or one hour. Furthermore, this one day may be divided into, for example, weekdays and weekends and holidays. In this case, the power consumption for each predetermined time on weekdays may be, for example, the average value of the power consumption from Monday to Friday for each predetermined time, while the power consumption for each predetermined time on weekends and holidays may be, for example, the average value of the power demand for Saturday, Sunday, and holiday for each predetermined time. When the power consumption for each predetermined time in one day is divided into weekdays and weekends and holidays, this information may be updated, for example, on a weekly basis and stored in the attribute storage unit 510. This makes it possible to effectively use information indicating the latest power usage status of multiple consumers for the integration of virtual power plants. For example, assume that multiple consumers are X1 to Xn, information indicating the power usage status of each of the consumers X1 to Xn on weekdays is W11 to W1n, and information indicating the power usage status of each of the consumers X1 to Xn on holidays and weekends is W21 to W2n.

[0023] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a power system, and for example, all areas shown in FIG. 4 correspond to the management area 10. FIG. 4 shows, for example, two substations H1 and H2, buses K1 and K2 connected to the substations H1 and H2, distribution lines F1 and F2 branching off from the bus K1, and distribution lines F3 and F4 branching off from the bus K2. For example, the distribution lines F1 and F2 are formed so as to straddle an urban area 10A, and a plurality of energy resources 20A (white circles) are installed in a dispersed and dense manner within this urban area 10A. Furthermore, the distribution lines F3 and F4 are formed so as to straddle a peripheral area 10B, and a plurality of energy resources 20B (white triangles) are installed in a dispersed manner within this peripheral area 10B.

[0024] The attribute information B is, for example, information indicating the power distribution lines F1-F4 to which the multiple energy resources 20A, 20B are connected. For example, if the multiple energy resources distributed in the urban area 10A across the power distribution lines F1, F2 are 20A1-20An, the multiple energy resources 20A1-20An are associated with information on the power distribution lines F1, F2 connected thereto and information indicating the consumers X1-Xn who own the corresponding energy resources 20A1-20An, and are stored in the attribute storage unit 510 as the attribute information B. Also, if the multiple energy resources distributed in the surrounding area 10B across the power distribution lines F2-F4 are 20B1-20Bn, the multiple energy resources 20B1-20Bn are associated with information on the power distribution lines F2-F4 connected thereto and information indicating the consumers X1-Xn who own the corresponding energy resources 20B1-20Bn, and are stored in the attribute storage unit 510 as the attribute information B. Here, the information indicating the consumers X1 to Xn may be the same information as the consumers X1 to Xn in the attribute information A, or may be information corresponding to the consumers X1 to Xn in the attribute information A. In other words, any information may be used as long as the consumers X1 to Xn in the attribute information A and B match each other.

[0025] The attribute information C is information indicating the geographical positions where the multiple energy resources 20A, 20B are installed in the urban area 10A and the surrounding area 10B, respectively. The multiple energy resources 20A1-20An distributed in the urban area 10A in Fig. 4 are associated with information indicating the geographical positions of the multiple energy resources 20A1-20An and information indicating the consumers X1-Xn who own the corresponding multiple energy resources 20A1-20An, and are stored in the attribute storage unit 510 as the attribute information C. Similarly, the multiple energy resources 20B1-20Bn distributed in the surrounding area 10B in Fig. 4 are associated with information indicating the geographical positions of the multiple energy resources 20B1-20Bn and information indicating the consumers X1-Xn who own the corresponding multiple energy resources 20B1-20Bn, and are stored in the attribute storage unit 510 as the attribute information C. Here, the information indicating the consumers X1-Xn may be the same as the consumers X1-Xn in the attribute information A, or may be information corresponding to the consumers X1-Xn in the attribute information A. In other words, any information may be used as long as the consumers X1-Xn in the attribute information A and C match. In addition, the information indicating the geographical positions of the multiple energy resources 20A and 20B may be, for example, address information or longitude and latitude information indicating the installation positions of the corresponding energy resources 20A and 20B, but in this embodiment, it is address information. For example, the address information of the energy resources 20A1-20An is AD11-AD1n, and the address information of the energy resources 20B1-20Bn is AD21-AD2n.

[0026] The integrated control unit 520 selectively integrates, via the network 30, a plurality of energy resources 20A, 20B that are determined to be optimal when responding to a demand response from among a plurality of energy resources 20A distributed within the urban area 10A and a plurality of energy resources 20B distributed in the surrounding area 10B, by referring to table data of attribute information A to C stored in the attribute memory unit 510, to form a virtual power plant.

[0027] The integrated control unit 520 preferentially uses the attribute information A and B over the attribute information C to selectively integrate the multiple energy resources 20A and 20B.

[0028] Here, the attribute information A includes information indicating the power consumption of each of the consumers X1 to Xn for each predetermined time in one day. The integrated control unit 520 selects the consumers X1 to Xn that consume similar power from the attribute information A, and integrates the energy resources 20A and 20B owned by the selected consumers X1 to Xn via the network 30. As an example, when it is necessary to reduce the power demand from 12:00 to 15:00 on weekdays by a downward DR, the integrated control unit 520 selects only the information W11 to W1n indicating the power usage status in which the power consumption from 12:00 to 15:00 on weekdays becomes larger than a certain amount from the attribute information A, and integrates the energy resources 20A and 20B owned by the consumers X1 to Xn corresponding to the information W11 to W1n indicating the selected power usage status via the network 30. Then, the integrated control unit 520 can efficiently reduce the power consumption by the energy resources 20A and 20B from 12:00 to 15:00 on weekdays in accordance with the downward DR in the virtual power plant formed by the integration. In this way, the attribute information A is useful information for predicting demand regarding how to control the demand of the energy resources 20A, 20B that constitute the virtual power plant in response to demand response. In addition, since the consumers X1 to Xn selected from the attribute information A have similar power usage conditions, the attribute information A has high priority as information used for efficient operation of the virtual power plant in one demand response.

[0029] The attribute information B is information indicating which of the power distribution lines F1 to F4 the multiple energy resources 20A and 20B are connected to. The power distribution lines F1 and F2 are power lines branching off from a common bus K1, so they are strongly correlated, and the distance between the power distribution lines F1 and F2 is relatively short compared to other power systems (for example, the power distribution lines F3 and F4). Similarly, the power distribution lines F3 and F4 are power lines branching off from a common bus K2, so they are strongly correlated, and the distance between the power distribution lines F3 and F4 is relatively short compared to other power systems (for example, the power distribution lines F1 and F2). For this reason, the multiple energy resources 20A and 20B connected to the power distribution lines F1 and F2 (or the power distribution lines F3 and F4) are highly likely to be affected by the same natural environment (weather, disasters, etc.). The same can be said about the energy resources 20A and 20B commonly connected to any one of the power distribution lines F1 to F4. Therefore, since the energy resources 20A, 20B connected to at least one of the distribution lines F1, F2 and at least one of the distribution lines F3, F4 are likely to have similar power usage conditions, they become high priority information to be used by the virtual power plant to operate efficiently in a single demand response.

[0030] The attribute information C is information indicating the geographical positions of the energy resources 20A and 20B, and depending on the conditions of the demand response, the energy resources 20A and 20B distributed in geographically close positions (e.g., the energy resources 20A and 20B connected to the distribution lines F1 and F2) or the energy resources 20A and 20B distributed in geographically distant positions (e.g., the energy resources 20A and 20B connected to the distribution lines F1 and F4) can be used as information for forming a virtual power plant. In order to balance the demand for power consumed by consumers against the supply of power, the attribute information A and B are used preferentially over the attribute information C in this embodiment.

[0031] In this embodiment, the attribute information A to C is used, but the attribute information is not limited to this. In addition to the attribute information A to C, for example, weather forecast information, event information, hazard information, etc. of the area where the energy resources 20A and 20B are separated may be used as appropriate to integrate the multiple energy resources 20A and 20B.

[0032] 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the integrated control unit 520 when forming a virtual power plant. For convenience of explanation, it is assumed that the attribute information A and B stored in the attribute storage unit 510 are used when forming the virtual power plant. It is also assumed that the demand response is, for example, a downward DR, which is a command to reduce the amount of power consumption by a certain amount from 12:00 to 15:00 on weekdays as described above.

[0033] First, the integrated control unit 520 determines whether or not a demand response has been received from the electric utility server 60 (step S10). If the integrated control unit 520 has not received a demand response (step S10: NO), the integrated control unit 520 repeats the determination operation of step S10 until a demand response is received. On the other hand, if the integrated control unit 520 has received a demand response (step S10: YES), the integrated control unit 520 refers to the table data of the attribute information A stored in the attribute storage unit 510, and selects information in which the amount of power consumption between 12:00 and 15:00 has increased by a certain amount or more from among the information W11 to W1n indicating the power usage status on weekdays (step S20).

[0034] Next, the integrated control unit 520 refers to the table data of the attribute information B stored in the attribute memory unit 510, and roughly classifies the energy resources 20A, 20B corresponding to information W11 to W1n selected from the attribute information A, in which the power consumption between 12:00 and 15:00 on weekdays increases above a certain level, into groups connected to the respective distribution lines F1 to F4 (step S30).

[0035] Furthermore, the integrated control unit 520 selects the group with the largest total number of energy resources 20A, 20B from among the roughly classified groups. The reason for selecting the group with the largest total number of energy resources 20A, 20B is that the possibility of a large reduction in power consumption in the energy resources 20A, 20B in response to one downward DR increases. In addition, because the power consumption required in one downward DR is, for example, on the order of megawatts, the greater the total number of energy resources 20A, 20B, the higher the possibility of responding to the downward DR (step S40).

[0036] Next, the integration control unit 520 integrates the energy resources 20A, 20B in the selected group via the network 30 to form a virtual power plant. For example, as shown in Fig. 4, among the energy resources 20A, 20B connected to the power distribution line F2, the energy resources 20A, 20B in the area surrounded by a thick line are integrated by the integration control unit 520 to form a virtual power plant. This virtual power plant is formed by selectively integrating the energy resource 20A included in the urban area 10A and the energy resource 20B included in the peripheral area 10B (step S50).

[0037] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of an automated demand response process.

[0038] First, a demand response indicating the above-mentioned lowered DR is generated from the electric utility server 60 (step S100).

[0039] Next, when the aggregator server 50 receives the lowered DR on a weekday (step S110), the aggregator server 50 integrates the energy resources 20A and 20B that can meet the lowered DR based on the attribute information A and B via the network 30 to form a virtual power plant (step S120) in accordance with the procedure shown in FIG. 5. Here, in FIG. 5, the procedure using the attribute information A and B is shown for forming the virtual power plant, but depending on the conditions of the lowered DR, the attribute information C may be used in addition to the attribute information A and B in order to more reliably meet the lowered DR. For example, the attribute information C is useful information when it is desired to further narrow down the geographical area of ​​the virtual power plant. In this way, the aggregator server 50 forms the virtual power plant using at least one of the attribute information A, B, and C. For example, depending on the conditions of the DR, the aggregator server 50 may form the virtual power plant using only the attribute information A without using the attribute information B, or may form the virtual power plant using the attribute information A and C.

[0040] When the formation of the virtual power plant is completed, the integrated control unit 520 instructs the multiple energy resources 20A, 20B forming the virtual power plant to reduce their power consumption by a certain amount between 12:00 and 15:00 on weekdays in accordance with the lowering DR. This instruction is given to the relay system 40 connected to the energy resources 20A, 20B, which controls the reduction in the power consumption by the energy resources 20A, 20B to reach the certain amount (step S130). For example, if the energy resources 20A, 20B are lighting equipment or air conditioning equipment, control to suppress the output of these equipment is automatically performed.

[0041] When the period for reducing power consumption within the virtual power plant (12:00-15:00 on weekdays) has elapsed, the integrated control unit 520 acquires and compiles actual data indicating the amount of reduction in power consumption from the relay systems 40 connected to the energy resources 20A, 20B that have reduced their power consumption within the virtual power plant, and transmits this compiled data to the electric utility server 60 (step S140).

[0042] When the electric utility server 60 acquires the aggregated data from the integrated control unit 520, it performs a process to pay the aggregator server 50 a remuneration according to the amount of reduction in power consumption indicated by the aggregated data (step S150). After confirming through the aggregator server 50 that the process of receiving the remuneration according to the amount of reduction in power consumption has been completed, the aggregator pays the remuneration to the consumers who own the energy resources 20A and 20B in the virtual power plant, thereby completing a series of negawatt transactions. Of course, whether or not a remuneration is paid to a consumer in response to a demand response depends on the contents of the consumer's contract, and this embodiment is merely an example.

[0043] As described above, the aggregator server 50 constituting a virtual power plant formation control system that integrates and controls multiple energy resources 20A, 20B owned by multiple consumers X1 to Xn and distributed across a management area 10 via a network 30, causing the resources to function as if they were a single power plant, includes an attribute memory unit 510 that stores information including attribute information A that indicates the power usage status of the multiple consumers X1 to Xn, and an integration control unit 520 that selectively integrates the energy resources 20A, 20B from the multiple energy resources 20A, 20B based on the above information, and controls the integrated energy resources 20A, 20B in accordance with demand response.

[0044] The above information further includes attribute information B indicating the power system (power distribution lines F1 to F4) to which the multiple energy resources 20A and 20B are connected.

[0045] The above information further includes attribute information C indicating the geographical locations of the multiple energy resources 20A, 20B.

[0046] The integration control unit 520 prioritizes the attribute information A and B over the attribute information C and selectively integrates the multiple energy resources 20A and 20B.

[0047] The multiple energy resources 20A, 20B include energy generating resources, energy storing resources, and energy saving resources, and the integrated control unit 520 selectively integrates any one of the energy generating resources, energy storing resources, and energy saving resources from the multiple energy resources 20A, 20B based on any one of the attribute information A to C.

[0048] In this way, according to this embodiment, regardless of whether it is the urban area 10A or the surrounding area 10B, a virtual power plant can be formed by efficiently utilizing various energy resources 20A, 20B that are ubiquitous, making it possible to more reliably balance the supply and demand of electricity.

[0049] The above embodiment is for facilitating understanding of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention may be modified or improved without departing from the spirit thereof, and the present invention also includes equivalents thereof. In the present embodiment, the virtual power plant operates to reduce the amount of power consumption according to the lowering DR, but is not limited to this. The virtual power plant can also operate to increase the amount of power consumption according to the increasing DR. In other words, the integrated control unit 520 in the aggregator server 50 can form and control the virtual power plant so as to efficiently respond to both the increasing DR and the decreasing DR. [Explanation of symbols]

[0050] 10. Administration Area 10A Urban Area 10B Surrounding area 20A, 20B Energy Resources 30 Network 40 Relay System 50 Aggregator Server 60 Electricity supplier server 510 Attribute storage section 520 Integrated Control Unit

Claims

1. A virtual power plant formation control system that integrates and controls multiple energy resources owned by multiple consumers and distributed in various locations via a network, and functions as if they were a single power plant, an attribute storage unit that stores attribute information including information indicating power usage statuses of the plurality of consumers, information indicating a power grid to which the plurality of energy resources are connected, and information indicating geographical locations of the plurality of energy resources; an integrated control unit that selectively integrates energy resources from among the plurality of energy resources based on the attribute information and controls the integrated energy resources in response to demand response; Equipped with The integration control unit selectively integrates the energy resources by prioritizing information indicating power usage conditions of the plurality of consumers and information indicating a power grid to which the plurality of energy resources are connected over information indicating geographical locations of the plurality of energy resources. Virtual power plant formation control system.

2. The plurality of energy resources include an energy generating resource, an energy storing resource, and an energy saving resource, The integrated control unit selectively integrates any one of the energy generating resource, the energy storing resource, and the energy saving resource from among the plurality of energy resources based on the attribute information. The virtual power plant formation control system according to claim 1 .

3. A method for forming and controlling a virtual power plant in which a plurality of energy resources owned by a plurality of consumers and distributed in various locations are integrated and controlled via a network to function as if they were a single power plant, comprising the steps of: From among the plurality of energy resources, energy resources are selectively integrated based on attribute information including information indicating power usage conditions of a plurality of consumers, which is pre-stored in an attribute storage unit, information indicating a power system to which the plurality of energy resources are connected, and information indicating geographical positions of the plurality of energy resources, and when controlling the integrated energy resources in response to demand response, the energy resources are selectively integrated by giving priority to the information indicating the power usage conditions of the plurality of consumers and the information indicating the power system to which the plurality of energy resources are connected over the information indicating the geographical positions of the plurality of energy resources. A method for controlling the formation of a virtual power plant.

4. The plurality of energy resources include an energy generating resource, an energy storing resource, and an energy saving resource, Selectively integrating any one of the energy generating resource, the energy storing resource, and the energy saving resource from among the plurality of energy resources based on the attribute information. The method for controlling formation of a virtual power plant according to claim 3 .

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