Determination device and determination method

Abstract

A renewable energy control device 10 comprises a determination unit (power storage / discharge determination unit 15) which, with regard to a product that can be stored, used, and moved, determines whether to store the product at a prescribed site, use the product at the prescribed site, or move the product to another site on the basis of the first supply-demand balance between the supply amount of the product and the demand amount of the product at the prescribed site and on the basis of the second supply-demand balance between the supply amount of the product and the demand amount of the product at the other site.

Description

Determination device and determination method

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a determination device and a determination method.

[0002] Based on the supply-demand balance between the amount of renewable energy generated and the amount of electricity demanded, the decision was made to store electricity in the storage facility (save electricity) and discharge electricity from the storage facility (use electricity), and if there was still surplus renewable energy, the workload was moved between bases (between data centers) (see Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2).

[0003] Suwabe, et al., "Study on Supply-Demand Balancing Method Considering Storage Batteries Using Reinforcement Learning," Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers, February 28, 2023. Nakamura, et al., "Effectiveness Verification of Workload Allocation Method Considering Renewable Energy," Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers, February 28, 2023.

[0004] However, since the decision to store (preserve) or discharge (use) electricity in the energy storage equipment was made based solely on the supply and demand balance of the site itself, there were cases where the utilization rate of renewable energy did not increase across the entire site.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide a technology that can improve the utilization rate of renewable energy.

[0006] A determination device according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a determination unit that determines, for a product that can be stored, used, and moved, whether to store the product at a specified base, use the product at the specified base, or move the product to the other base, based on a first supply-demand balance between the supply amount of the product and the demand amount of the product at a specified base, and a second supply-demand balance between the supply amount of the product and the demand amount of the product at another base.

[0007] A determination method according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a determination method performed by a determination device, which determines whether a product that can be stored, used, or moved should be stored at a specified base, used at a specified base, or moved to another base based on a first supply-demand balance between the supply amount of the product and the demand amount of the product at a specified base, and a second supply-demand balance between the supply amount of the product and the demand amount of the product at another base.

[0008] According to the present disclosure, a technology capable of improving the utilization rate of renewable energy can be provided.

[0009] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a control system. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an image of the operation of the control system. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the control system. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of calculation of the supply and demand balance and the supply and demand variation degree. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of adjustment of the amount of power (conventional). FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of adjustment of the amount of power (this embodiment). FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a control system (modified example). FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a renewable energy control device.

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same parts are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0011] [Summary] The present disclosure determines whether to charge or discharge electricity to or from an electricity storage facility by using the supply and demand balance at other locations.

[0012] Specifically, the system determines the storage of electricity into and discharge from the storage equipment based on the supply-demand balance between the amount of renewable energy generated and the amount of electricity demand at the home base and the supply-demand balance between the amount of renewable energy generated and the amount of electricity demand at other bases.

[0013] Energy storage refers to storing renewable energy electricity in an energy storage facility. Discharging refers to discharging the electricity stored in the energy storage facility from the facility and using the discharged electricity (supplying it to electricity consumption means such as buildings).

[0014] In this way, the supply and demand balance of other bases is also used to determine the storage (preservation) of electricity in the storage equipment and the discharge (use) of electricity from the storage equipment, thereby increasing the utilization rate of renewable energy across the entire base.

[0015] Furthermore, the present disclosure determines whether to store electricity in or discharge electricity from an electricity storage facility based on the degree of supply and demand variation between the supply and demand balance at the own location and the supply and demand balance at another location.

[0016] In this way, the storage of electricity into and discharge from the storage equipment is determined based on the degree of supply and demand variation between the supply and demand balance at the home base and the supply and demand balance at other bases, thereby further increasing the utilization rate of renewable energy across the entire base.

[0017] [Configuration of Control System] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a control system 1 according to this embodiment. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an operation image of the control system 1.

[0018] 1, the control system 1 includes a plurality of renewable energy control devices 10, a supply and demand imbalance calculation device 20, and a workload control device 30. The devices 10, 20, and 30 can communicate with each other via a communication network 40.

[0019] Hereinafter, the functions of the devices 10, 20, and 30 will be described mainly with reference to FIG.

[0020] Renewable energy control devices (determination devices) 10 are placed at bases A to Z. The renewable energy control devices 10 include a power generation amount prediction unit 11, a power demand prediction unit 12, a stored energy amount acquisition unit 13, a stored energy amount control unit 14, and a stored energy discharge determination unit 15.

[0021] The power generation amount prediction unit 11 has a function of calculating a predicted value of the amount of renewable energy generated by a renewable energy power generation facility (for example, solar panels).

[0022] The power demand prediction unit 12 has a function of calculating a predicted value of the power demand required by power consumption means (for example, power facilities in a building, computers, and calculators).

[0023] The stored power amount acquiring unit 13 has a function of acquiring the amount of stored power in a power storage facility (for example, a battery).

[0024] The power storage amount control unit 14 has a function of storing renewable energy generated by the renewable energy power generation facility in the power storage facility or discharging the renewable energy generated by the renewable energy power generation facility from the power storage facility in accordance with a power storage command or a discharge command from the power storage / discharge determination unit 15 .

[0025] The storage and discharge determination unit 15 has a function of determining whether to store the renewable energy generated by the renewable energy power generation facility in the storage facility or to discharge it from the storage facility, based on the predicted value of the renewable energy power generation amount from the power generation amount prediction unit 11, the predicted value of the power demand amount from the power demand prediction unit 12, and the stored energy amount from the stored energy amount acquisition unit 13.

[0026] The stored power discharge determination unit 15 also has a function of determining whether there is a surplus amount of renewable energy power generated even after storing power in the power storage facility, and whether there is an amount of power that must be purchased. If there is a surplus amount of renewable energy power generated, or if there is an amount of power that must be purchased, the stored power discharge determination unit 15 has a function of outputting these as adjustable power amounts to the allocation calculation unit 32 of the workload control device 30.

[0027] Here, the stored-electricity discharge determination unit 15 will be described in detail.

[0028] In the past, the determination of whether to store electricity in or discharge electricity from an electricity storage facility was based on the supply-demand balance (first supply-demand balance) between the predicted value of renewable energy power generation and the predicted value of power demand at the home base. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the determination is made also taking into account the supply-demand balance (second supply-demand balance) between the predicted value of renewable energy power generation and the predicted value of power demand at other bases.

[0029] Therefore, the power storage / discharge determination unit 15 determines whether to store renewable energy in the power storage facility or discharge it from the power storage facility by using not only the supply and demand balance of the own base but also the supply and demand balance of all bases A to Z calculated by the supply and demand variation calculation unit 21 of the supply and demand variation calculation device 20. This makes it possible to increase the utilization rate of renewable energy.

[0030] Furthermore, the electricity storage / discharge determination unit 15 determines electricity storage to / discharge from the electricity storage facility based on the supply and demand variation between the supply and demand balance of the own base and the supply and demand balance of another base calculated by the supply and demand variation calculation unit 21 of the supply and demand variation calculation device 20. This makes it possible to further increase the utilization rate of renewable energy.

[0031] Next, the function of the supply and demand variation calculation device 20 will be described.

[0032] The supply and demand variation calculation device 20 includes a supply and demand variation calculation unit 21 .

[0033] The supply and demand variation calculation unit 21 has the function of inputting the predicted values ​​of renewable energy power generation and power demand predicted by the power generation prediction unit 11 and power demand prediction unit 12 of bases A to Z, calculating the supply and demand balance of each base based on these, calculating the supply and demand variation at all bases, and outputting the result together with the total supply and demand value to the storage and discharge determination unit 15 of bases A to Z.

[0034] Next, the function of the workload controller 30 will be described.

[0035] The workload control device 30 includes a power consumption prediction unit 31 , a placement calculation unit 32 , and a control unit 33 .

[0036] The power consumption prediction unit 31 has a function of calculating predicted values ​​of power consumption of each workload running on the servers in the data centers of all bases A to Z.

[0037] The placement calculation unit 32 has the function of calculating the placement of workloads (e.g., the source data center, the destination data center, and the time of movement) based on the adjustable power amount output from the storage and discharge determination unit 15 at each base and the predicted power consumption of each workload predicted by the power consumption prediction unit 31.

[0038] The control unit 33 has a function of moving workloads between bases (between data centers) based on the workload placement information calculated by the placement calculation unit 32 .

[0039] [Operation of Control System] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the control system 1 according to this embodiment.

[0040] Step S 1 : The power consumption prediction unit 31 calculates a predicted value of the power consumption of each workload running on the servers in the data centers of all bases A to Z, and transmits the predicted value to the allocation calculation unit 32 .

[0041] Steps S2 and S3: The power generation amount prediction unit 11 of the base A calculates a predicted value of the amount of renewable energy power generation at the base A, and transmits the predicted value to the stored power discharge determination unit 15 and the supply and demand imbalance calculation unit 21 of the base A. The power generation amount prediction units 11 of the bases B to Z also perform similar processing.

[0042] Steps S4 and S5: The power demand prediction unit 12 of the base A calculates a predicted value of the power demand of the base A and transmits the predicted value to the stored power discharge determination unit 15 and the supply and demand variation calculation unit 21 of the base A. The power demand prediction units 12 of the bases B to Z also perform similar processing.

[0043] Step S6: The stored power amount acquisition unit 13 at the site A acquires the amount of stored power in the power storage facility at the site A and transmits the amount of stored power to the stored power discharge determination unit 15 at the site A. The stored power amount acquisition units 13 at the sites B to Z perform the same process.

[0044] Steps S7 and S8: The supply and demand variation calculation unit 21 calculates the difference (= supply and demand balance) between the predicted value of electricity demand and the predicted value of renewable energy power generation for each base station, and designates base stations where the difference is positive as positive base stations (+1), and base stations where the difference is negative as negative base stations (-1).

[0045] Then, the supply and demand variation calculation unit 21 calculates the absolute value of the difference between the number of positive bases and the number of negative bases, and transmits this absolute value as the supply and demand variation to the stored-power discharge determination unit 15 of all bases A to Z. In the specific example shown in FIG. 4, the supply and demand variation of bases A to F is "+2." The smaller the absolute value, the larger the supply and demand variation.

[0046] In addition, the supply and demand variation calculation unit 21 calculates the sum of the predicted values ​​of renewable energy power generation at all bases A to F, calculates the sum of the predicted values ​​of electricity demand, and transmits these as the total supply and demand values ​​to the storage and discharge determination unit 15 at all bases A to Z.

[0047] The method for calculating the total supply and demand value is arbitrary. For example, only the total value of the predicted values ​​of renewable energy power generation may be calculated. The total supply and demand value transmitted to site A may be the total value of the predicted values ​​of sites B to Z. How to calculate which total value can be determined arbitrarily depending on the determination conditions for charge / discharge in the charge / discharge determination unit 15.

[0048] Step S9: The stored power discharge determination unit 15 of the base A sets a desired amount of power demand at the base A based on the surplus / shortage of renewable energy at all the bases A to Z.

[0049] For example, the power storage / discharge determination unit 15 at base A determines whether to store renewable energy, discharge renewable energy, or use adjustable power based on the predicted value of the renewable energy power generation amount at base A, the predicted value of the power demand amount at base A, the stored power amount in the power storage equipment at base A, the degree of supply and demand variation at all bases A to Z, and the total value of supply and demand at all bases A to Z.

[0050] That is, the stored-energy discharge determination unit 15 of the base A performs the above determination process based on not only the surplus / shortage status of renewable energy at the base A itself, but also the statuses of the other bases B to Z. The stored-energy discharge determination unit 15 of the bases B to Z also performs the same process.

[0051] Even if the number of bases increases, the five types of data used for judgment remain unchanged, so the amount of calculation by the stored-energy discharge judgment unit 15 remains unchanged. Furthermore, since the stored-energy discharge judgment unit 15 makes judgments that prioritize the movement of workloads, flexible utilization of power storage facilities becomes possible, and renewable energy can be used without waste.

[0052] The following steps are an example of a determination.

[0053] Steps S10 and S11: When it is determined that renewable energy is to be stored, the stored / discharge determination unit 15 of the base A transmits a command to store renewable energy to the power storage amount control unit 14 of the base A. Thereafter, the power storage amount control unit 14 of the base A stores the renewable energy in the power storage facility.

[0054] Steps S12 to S15: If there is a surplus of renewable energy power generation even after storing it in the power storage equipment, or if there is an amount of power that must be purchased, the power storage and discharge determination unit 15 at base A outputs these as adjustable power amounts to the placement calculation unit 32.

[0055] The placement calculation unit 32 calculates the placement of workloads based on the adjustable power amount output from the power storage discharge determination unit 15 at each base and the predicted value of the power consumption of each workload, and transmits the placement information to the control unit 33. At this time, the placement calculation unit 32 generates the placement information by appropriately using data traffic information, network topology information, and communication line quality information within and between bases.

[0056] Thereafter, the control unit 33 moves each workload between bases (between data centers) based on the placement information.

[0057] [Example of Determination by the Stored-Electricity Discharge Determination Unit 15] Here, an example of rule-based determination will be described.

[0058] (Determination Example 1) When the total value of the predicted values ​​of the amount of renewable energy power generation at all bases is greater than 0 and the degree of variation in supply and demand of the amount of power at all bases is equal to or less than the threshold, the following determination is made.

[0059] When the predicted value of the amount of renewable energy power generation at the own base is greater than the predicted value of the amount of power demand at the own base and the amount of stored power at the own base is equal to or less than the threshold (pattern 1), power is stored.

[0060] When the predicted value of the renewable energy power generation amount of the own base is greater than the predicted value of the power demand amount of the own base and the amount of stored power of the own base is equal to or greater than the threshold value (in the case of pattern 2), power is stored and discharged.

[0061] If the predicted value of the renewable energy power generation amount of the local base is smaller than the predicted value of the power demand amount of the local base and the stored power amount of the local base is below the threshold (in the case of pattern 3), the amount of power is treated as adjustable, and the workload of the local base is moved to another base. In this case, power purchases would conventionally occur, but in this embodiment, the amount of power is treated as adjustable, and the workload of the local base is moved to another base, so renewable energy at other bases can be effectively utilized.

[0062] If the predicted renewable energy power generation amount at the local base is smaller than the predicted power demand amount at the local base and the stored power amount at the local base is above a threshold (pattern 4), the amount of power is treated as adjustable, and the workload at the local base is moved to another base.

[0063] (Determination Example 2) When the total value of the predicted values ​​of the amount of renewable energy power generation at all bases is greater than 0 and the degree of variation in supply and demand of the amount of power at all bases is equal to or greater than a threshold, the following determination is made.

[0064] In the cases of patterns 1 and 2, the amount of power is treated as adjustable, and the workload of the other base is moved to the home base. In the case of pattern 1, in the past, the power was stored at the home base and there was a possibility that it would be discarded as renewable energy at the other base, but in this embodiment, the amount of power is treated as adjustable, and the workload of the other base is moved to the home base, so that the renewable energy at the home base can be effectively utilized.

[0065] In the cases of patterns 3 and 4, the amount of power is treated as adjustable, and the workload of the home base is moved to another base.

[0066] (Determination Example 3) When the total value of the predicted values ​​of the amount of renewable energy power generation at all bases is smaller than 0 and the degree of variation in supply and demand of the amount of power at all bases is equal to or greater than a threshold, the following determination is made.

[0067] In the cases of patterns 1 and 2, the amount of power is treated as adjustable, and the workload of another base is moved to the own base.

[0068] In the cases of patterns 3 and 4, the amount of power is treated as adjustable, and the workload of the home base is moved to another base. In the case of pattern 3, power purchases have always occurred in the past, but in this embodiment, the amount of power is treated as adjustable, and the workload of the home base is moved to another base, so renewable energy at the other base can be effectively utilized.

[0069] (Determination Example 4) When the total value of the predicted values ​​of the amount of renewable energy power generation at all bases is smaller than 0 and the degree of variation in supply and demand of the amount of power at all bases is equal to or smaller than the threshold, the following determination is made.

[0070] In the cases of patterns 1 and 2, the amount of power is treated as adjustable, and the workload of the other base is moved to the home base. In the case of pattern 1, in the past, the power was stored at the home base and there was a possibility that it would be discarded as renewable energy at the other base, but in this embodiment, the amount of power is treated as adjustable, and the workload of the other base is moved to the home base, so that the renewable energy at the home base can be effectively utilized.

[0071] In the case of pattern 3, electricity is purchased.

[0072] In the case of pattern 4, electricity is discharged and purchased.

[0073] [Comparison between the conventional method and the present embodiment] A conventional example of adjusting the amount of power is shown in Fig. 5. Conventionally, charging and discharging of power to and from the power storage facility has been determined based only on the balance of power supply and demand at the own base.

[0074] Therefore, at site A, in anticipation of low renewable energy generation at time T1 when cloudy weather was forecast, renewable energy was stored at time T0 when the weather was clear. At sites B and C, renewable energy generation was low at time T0 when it was cloudy, so electricity was purchased, and then the weather remained clear, so the renewable energy was stored and then discarded.

[0075] An example of adjusting the amount of power in this embodiment is shown in Fig. 6. In this embodiment, charging and discharging of power to the power storage facility is determined based on the balance of supply and demand of power across the three bases A to C and the degree of variation in supply and demand.

[0076] At time T0, the amount of renewable energy power generation is large at sunny site A and small at cloudy sites B and C. Therefore, the storage of renewable energy at site A is postponed, and the workload of sites B and C is moved to site A. Sites B and C do not purchase renewable energy power.

[0077] At time T1, the amount of renewable energy power generation at cloudy site A is small, and the amount of renewable energy power generation at sunny sites B and C is large, so the storage of renewable energy at sites B and C is postponed, and the workload of site A is transferred to sites B and C. Site A does not purchase renewable energy power.

[0078] In this way, when there is a nationwide surplus of renewable energy, the storage of renewable energy at each site is put on hold and the transfer of workload between sites is prioritized.Renewable energy is not purchased or disposed of, and renewable energy is used to the maximum extent possible, allowing for effective use of renewable energy.

[0079] [Modification 1] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration example (modification) of the control system 1 according to this embodiment.

[0080] In this modification, preprocessing is performed by the supply and demand variation calculation unit 21. That is, the supply and demand variation calculation unit 21 is disposed between the four functional units (the power generation amount prediction unit 11, the power demand amount prediction unit 12, the stored power amount acquisition unit 13, and the stored power amount control unit 14) and the stored power discharge determination unit 15.

[0081] The supply and demand variation calculation unit 21 calculates the supply and demand balance, the supply and demand variation, and the total supply and demand value, and outputs them to the storage and discharge determination unit 15, and also outputs the predicted value of the renewable energy power generation amount, the predicted value of the power demand amount, and the stored amount of electricity in the storage equipment to the storage and discharge determination unit 15.

[0082] The stored power discharge determination unit 15 is realized as a single unit common to all bases A to Z, and is constructed within the workload control device 30. The supply and demand variation calculation unit 21 is also constructed within the workload control device 30. In this case, the stored power discharge determination unit 15, the supply and demand variation calculation unit 21, and the allocation calculation unit 32 may be realized as a single processing unit. This reduces the calculation load.

[0083] [Variation 2] The present disclosure can be applied to various products that can be used, stored, and transported, in addition to renewable energy. For example, it can be applied to locally produced fresh food. Even fresh food can be sold at the production site, stored in a refrigerator, or transported to another site based on the supply and demand balance between the production site and another site.

[0084] [Effect] According to this embodiment, a determination is made as to whether to store renewable energy at a specified base, use renewable energy at a specified base, or transfer renewable energy to another base based on a first supply-demand balance between the amount of renewable energy generated (supply) and the amount of electricity demand (demand) at a specified base, and a second supply-demand balance between the amount of renewable energy generated and the amount of electricity demand at another base, thereby providing a technology that can improve the utilization rate of renewable energy.

[0085] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, since the determination is made based on the degree of supply and demand variation between the first supply and demand balance and the second supply and demand balance, it is possible to provide a technology that can further improve the utilization rate of renewable energy.

[0086] [Others] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist of the present disclosure.

[0087] The renewable energy control device 10 of the present embodiment described above can be realized, for example, by using a general-purpose computer system including a CPU 901, a memory 902, a storage 903, a communication device 904, an input device 905, and an output device 906, as shown in Fig. 8. The memory 902 and the storage 903 are storage devices. In the computer system, the CPU 901 executes a predetermined program loaded on the memory 902, thereby realizing each function of the renewable energy control device 10.

[0088] The renewable energy control device 10 may be implemented by one computer. The renewable energy control device 10 may be implemented by multiple computers. The renewable energy control device 10 may be a virtual machine implemented on a computer.

[0089] The program for the renewable energy control device 10 can be stored in a computer-readable recording medium such as a HDD, SSD, USB memory, CD, or DVD. The computer-readable recording medium is, for example, a non-transitory recording medium. The program for the renewable energy control device 10 can also be distributed via a communication network.

[0090] The supply and demand variation calculation device 20 and the workload control device 30 can also be realized using a computer system having the configuration shown in FIG.

[0091] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Control system 10 Renewable energy control device 11 Power generation amount prediction unit 12 Power demand amount prediction unit 13 Storage amount acquisition unit 14 Storage amount control unit 15 Storage discharge determination unit 20 Supply and demand variation calculation device 21 Supply and demand variation calculation unit 30 Workload control device 31 Power consumption prediction unit 32 Placement calculation unit 33 Control unit 40 Communication network 901 CPU 902 Memory 903 Storage 904 Communication device 905 Input device 906 Output device

Claims

1. A determination device comprising: a determination unit that determines, for a product that can be stored, used, and moved, whether to store the product at a specified base, use the product at the specified base, or move the product to the other base, based on a first supply-demand balance between the supply amount of the product and the demand amount of the product at the specified base, and a second supply-demand balance between the supply amount of the product and the demand amount of the product at the other base.

2. The determination device according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit makes the determination based on the degree of supply and demand variation between the first supply and demand balance and the second supply and demand balance.

3. The determination device according to claim 1, wherein the supply amount of the product is the amount of electricity generated by renewable energy, and the demand amount of the product is the amount of electricity consumed by an electricity consumption means.

4. A determination method performed by a determination device, which determines, for a product that can be stored, used, and moved, whether to store the product at a specified base, use the product at the specified base, or move the product to the other base, based on a first supply-demand balance between the supply amount of the product and the demand amount of the product at a specified base, and a second supply-demand balance between the supply amount of the product and the demand amount of the product at another base.

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