Information processing method, program, and information processing system

Abstract

This information processing method includes: a step (S13) for acquiring, from a consumer, a request for providing clean power, the request including first information related to the amount of clean power; and a first instruction step (S14) for instructing other consumers or business operators possessing a clean power source to output the amount of clean power indicated by the first information to the power grid on the basis of the acquired request.

Description

Information processing method, program, and information processing system

[0001] The present invention relates to technology for providing clean power.

[0002] Patent Literature 1 discloses a technology in which information indicating the location of a charging station is displayed on an in-vehicle display together with information indicating whether the charging station can charge an electric vehicle with clean electricity. In Patent Literature 1, clean electricity refers to electricity generated using a method that places a low burden on the environment.

[0003] International Publication No. 2013 / 024521

[0004] The present invention provides an information processing method and the like that can realize a clean power supply service.

[0005] An information processing method according to one aspect of the present invention is an information processing method executed by a computer system, and includes a step of acquiring a request for the provision of clean electricity from a consumer, the request including first information regarding the amount of clean electricity, and a first instruction step of instructing a clean power source provided by another consumer or business to output to the grid the amount of clean electricity indicated by the first information based on the acquired supply request.

[0006] A program according to one aspect of the present invention is a program for causing the computer system to execute the information processing method.

[0007] An information processing system according to one aspect of the present invention includes an acquisition unit that acquires a request for the provision of clean electricity from a consumer, the request including first information regarding the amount of clean electricity, and a control unit that, based on the acquired request for provision, instructs a clean power source provided by another consumer or business to output to the grid the amount of clean electricity indicated by the first information.

[0008] The information processing method etc. of the present invention can realize a clean power supply service.

[0009] Fig. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a clean power supply system according to an embodiment. Fig. 2 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a clean power supply operation. Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of power management information.

[0010] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiments described below are all comprehensive or specific examples. The numerical values, shapes, materials, components, component placement and connection forms, steps, and step order shown in the following embodiments are merely examples and are not intended to limit the present invention. Furthermore, among the components in the following embodiments, components not recited in independent claims will be described as optional components.

[0011] It should be noted that the drawings are schematic diagrams and are not necessarily strict illustrations. In addition, in the drawings, substantially the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and overlapping descriptions may be omitted or simplified.

[0012] (Embodiment) [Configuration] First, the configuration of a clean power supply system according to an embodiment will be described. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a clean power supply system according to an embodiment.

[0013] The clean power supply system 10 is a system that can provide clean electricity to consumers. Clean electricity refers to electricity generated using a method that does not emit greenhouse gases or a method that emits relatively low amounts of greenhouse gases. Specifically, clean electricity includes electricity generated using natural energy such as solar power generation, wind power generation, or geothermal power generation, or electricity generated by a fuel cell power generation system. Clean electricity also includes electricity generated using these methods and charged into a battery storage system. Hereinafter, power storage facilities and power generation facilities for providing clean electricity will also be referred to as clean power sources. Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbons.

[0014] According to the clean power supply system 10, a consumer can operate a load using clean power during a desired time period. Hereinafter, a consumer who uses the clean power provision service will also be referred to as consumer A.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 1, the clean power supply system 10 includes a group of facilities 20 owned or managed by a consumer A, a group of facilities 30 owned or managed by a business operator (hereinafter simply referred to as the business operator) that provides a service using the clean power supply system 10 or another consumer B, and a server system 40 owned or managed by the business operator. The business operator is, for example, a business operator different from both an electric power company and an electric power retailer, but may also be an electric power company or an electric power retailer. FIG. 1 also illustrates a wide-area communication network 50 and a grid 60. In FIG. 1, bold lines represent power lines, and dashed lines represent communication lines. The numbers S12, S14 to S16, and S19 to S20 in FIG. 1 correspond to the steps in the sequence diagram of FIG. 2, which will be described later.

[0016] First, we will explain the equipment group 20. The equipment group 20 is a group of equipment owned or managed by consumer A, and is installed, for example, in a facility (such as a home) owned by consumer A. The equipment group 20 includes a photovoltaic power generation system 21, a power conditioner 22, a storage battery system 23, a distribution board 24, multiple loads 25, a charging facility 25 a, an electric vehicle 26, and a control device 27.

[0017] The solar power generation system 21 is a power generation system that generates power by converting sunlight into electrical energy. The power generated by the solar power generation system 21 is output to a power conditioner 22. Specifically, the solar power generation system 21 is realized by a PV (Photovoltaic) panel or the like.

[0018] The power conditioner 22 is a power conversion device that converts DC power generated by the solar power generation system 21 into AC power, and is sometimes referred to as a PCS (Power Conditioning System). The power conditioner 22 is realized by power conversion circuits such as a DC-DC converter and a DC-AC converter. The power conditioner 22 measures the power generated by the solar power generation system 21 and transmits generated power information indicating the measured generated power to the control device 27. The power conditioner 22 also supplies the power generated by the solar power generation system 21 to multiple loads 25 via the distribution board 24. The power conditioner 22 can charge the storage battery system 23 with the power generated by the solar power generation system 21 and supply power discharged by the storage battery system 23 to multiple loads 25 via the distribution board 24.

[0019] The storage battery system 23 is a system that functions as a power source for the consumer A. The storage battery system 23 is realized by a secondary battery such as a lithium-ion battery, a charging circuit that charges the secondary battery, and a discharging circuit that discharges the secondary battery. The secondary battery is charged by power generated by the solar power generation system 21 or power supplied from the grid 60. The DC power discharged by the storage battery system 23 is converted into AC power by the power conditioner 22 and supplied to a plurality of loads 25 via a distribution board 24.

[0020] When the storage battery system 23 is used as a clean power source, only the amount of charge based on the power generated by the solar power generation system 21 is treated as a clean power source among the amount of charge (in other words, the amount of stored power) of the storage battery system 23. The storage battery system 23 may be treated as a clean power source by only allowing charging with the power generated by the solar power generation system 21 and prohibiting charging with power supplied from the grid 60.

[0021] The distribution board 24 is a device that distributes power supplied from the grid 60 to a plurality of branch circuits. Loads 25 are connected to the branch circuits. The distribution board 24 includes a power measurement element such as a current transformer (CT) and measures the power consumption of the entire consumer A (power consumption of the main circuit) and the power consumption of each branch circuit in the consumer A. The distribution board 24 also has a communication function and transmits power consumption information indicating the measured power consumption to the control device 27.

[0022] It is not essential that the distribution board 24 has a power measurement function and a communication function. For example, the equipment group 20 may include a smart meter (a power meter with a communication function) in addition to the distribution board 24, and power consumption information indicating the total power consumption of the consumer A may be transmitted from the smart meter to the control device 27.

[0023] The loads 25 are devices installed in the consumer A. The multiple loads 25 include lighting equipment, air conditioning equipment, ventilation equipment, air purifiers, electric shutters, electric locks, delivery boxes, and charging equipment 25a for the electric vehicle 26. The multiple loads 25 may also include environmental sensors such as a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor. The multiple loads 25 may also include sensors other than environmental sensors, such as a window sensor that senses whether a window is open or closed.

[0024] The charging facility 25a is a device that corresponds to a specific example of the load 25, and charges the electric vehicle 26 (more specifically, a secondary battery provided in the electric vehicle 26) using power obtained from the grid 60 or the storage battery system 23 (power conditioner 22). Either AC power or DC power may be supplied from the charging facility 25a to the electric vehicle 26. Specifically, the charging facility 25a is realized by a circuit that outputs power (AC power or DC power) suitable for charging the secondary battery provided in the electric vehicle 26 to the electric vehicle 26, a microcomputer for charging control, and the like.

[0025] The electric vehicle 26 is a vehicle used by a user of consumer A. The electric vehicle 26 is, for example, an EV (Electric Vehicle) that runs by driving a motor, but may also be a vehicle that runs using both an engine and a motor, such as a PHV (Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle) or a PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid EV). The electric vehicle 26 is equipped with a secondary battery as an energy source for running the electric vehicle 26.

[0026] The control device 27 is an information terminal having an energy management function, and more specifically, an EMS controller. The control device 27 manages the power generated by the photovoltaic power generation system 21 and the power consumption of the entire consumer A or each branch circuit. The control device 27 can control the power conditioner 22 and the load 25. The control device 27 is not limited to an EMS controller and may be another controller or a gateway device. Like the load 25, the control device 27 operates using power supplied from the distribution board 24.

[0027] Next, the equipment group 30 will be described. The equipment group 30 is a group of equipment owned or managed by the business operator or consumer B, and is installed, for example, in a facility (such as a business office or a residence) owned by the business operator or consumer B. The equipment group 30 includes a storage battery system 31, a power conditioner 32, a fuel cell power generation system 33, a power conditioner 34, and a control device 35.

[0028] The storage battery system 31 is a system that functions as a power source for a business operator or consumer B. The storage battery system 31 is realized by a secondary battery such as a lithium-ion battery, a charging circuit that charges the secondary battery, and a discharging circuit that discharges the secondary battery. The secondary battery is charged with power supplied from the grid 60. The DC power discharged by the storage battery system 31 is converted into AC power by a power conditioner 32 and output to the grid 60. The storage battery system 31 is an example of a clean power source, and is charged with power generated by a solar power generation system (not shown). The solar power generation system is also an example of a clean power source.

[0029] The power conditioner 32 is a power conversion device that converts DC power discharged by the storage battery system 31 into AC power, and may be called a PCS or the like. The power conditioner 32 is realized by a power conversion circuit such as a DC-DC converter and a DC-AC converter.

[0030] The fuel cell power generation system 33 is a system that generates electricity using gas such as city gas or LP gas. The fuel cell power generation system 33 can also boil water by transferring the heat generated during power generation to water via a heat exchanger. The fuel cell power generation system 33 is an example of a clean power source.

[0031] The power conditioner 34 is a power conversion device that converts DC power generated by the fuel cell power generation system 33 into AC power, and is sometimes called a PCS. The power conditioner 34 is realized by a power conversion circuit such as a DC-DC converter and a DC-AC converter.

[0032] The control device 35 is an information terminal having an energy management function, and more specifically, an EMS controller. The control device 35 manages the charging power and discharging power of the storage battery system 31 and the power generated by the fuel cell power generation system 33. The control device 35 can also control the storage battery system 31, the power conditioner 32, the fuel cell power generation system 33, and the power conditioner 34. The control device 35 is not limited to an EMS controller, and may be another controller or a gateway device.

[0033] Next, the server system 40 will be described. The server system 40 performs information processing to realize a clean power supply service. The server system 40 is realized by one or more server devices (cloud servers). The server system 40 is owned or managed by a business operator that provides a service using the clean power supply system 10. The server system 40 includes a communication unit 41, an information processing unit 42, and a storage unit 43.

[0034] The communication unit 41 is a communication circuit that enables the server system 40 to communicate with the control devices 27 and 35 via the wide area communication network 50. The communication unit 41 performs, for example, wired communication, but may also perform wireless communication. There are no particular limitations on the communication standard for the communication performed by the communication unit 41.

[0035] The information processing unit 42 performs information processing to realize the clean power provision service. The information processing unit 42 is realized, for example, by a microcomputer, but may also be realized by a processor. The information processing unit 42 includes, as functional components, an acquisition unit 44, a recording unit 45, a control unit 46, and an accounting unit 47. The functions of the acquisition unit 44, the recording unit 45, the control unit 46, and the accounting unit 47 are realized, for example, by the microcomputer or processor constituting the information processing unit 42 executing a computer program stored in the storage unit 43.

[0036] The storage unit 43 is a storage device that stores computer programs executed by the information processing unit 42. The storage unit 43 is realized by, for example, a semiconductor memory.

[0037] [Operation of Providing Clean Power] Next, a description will be given of an operation of the clean power supply system 10 to provide clean power to the consumer A. Fig. 2 is a sequence diagram showing an example of an operation of providing clean power.

[0038] The control device 27 receives a predetermined operation from the user of the consumer A to instruct charging of the electric vehicle 26 with clean power (S11). The predetermined operation includes an operation to specify the amount of power required for charging (in other words, the amount of clean power desired to be provided). More specifically, the amount of power required for charging is determined after the control device 27 inquires of the electric vehicle 26 about the remaining charge.

[0039] Upon receiving the predetermined operation, the control device 27 transmits a request for clean electricity to the server system 40 (S12). The request for clean electricity includes identification information of consumer A and first information indicating the amount of clean electricity desired to be provided. The request for clean electricity may include second information indicating at least one of the type of power generation method for the clean electricity desired to be provided by consumer A and the amount of greenhouse gas emissions generated when the clean electricity desired to be provided by consumer A is generated. The type of power generation method refers to solar power, wind power, fuel cells, etc. The amount of greenhouse gas emissions is specified, for example, as xx grams or less. The type of power generation method and the amount of greenhouse gas emissions indicated in the second information are specified, for example, by the predetermined operation.

[0040] The communication unit 41 of the server system 40 receives the request to provide clean power. The acquisition unit 44 acquires the received request to provide (S13). The control unit 46 uses the communication unit 41 to transmit a control command to the control device 35 instructing it to output to the grid 60 the amount of clean power indicated by the first information included in the request to provide (S14). In other words, based on the request to provide acquired in step S13, the control unit 46 instructs the clean power source provided by another consumer B or a business to output to the grid 60 the amount of clean power indicated by the first information.

[0041] The control device 35 receives the control command and outputs power from the clean power source to the grid 60 based on the received control command (S15). The control device 35 may output power from the storage battery system 31 to the grid 60 via the power conditioner 32, or may output power from the fuel cell power generation system 33 to the grid 60 via the power conditioner 34.

[0042] If the supply request includes the second information, a control command instructs the control device 35 to output clean power that conforms to the second information to the grid 60, and the control device 35 outputs the clean power that conforms to the second information to the grid 60. For example, if the second information specifies a fuel cell as the power generation method, the control device 35 selects the fuel cell power generation system 33 from the storage battery system 31 and the fuel cell power generation system 33, and outputs clean power from the fuel cell power generation system 33 to the grid 60 via the power conditioner 34.

[0043] After starting to output clean power, the control device 35 transmits notification information to the server system 40 (S16). The notification information includes the amount of power output by the clean power source and the type of power generation method used to generate the power output by the clean power source.

[0044] The communication unit 41 of the server system 40 receives the notification information. The acquisition unit 44 acquires the received notification information (S17), and the recording unit 45 records in the power management information that clean power has been provided to the consumer A (S18). Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of the power management information.

[0045] 3 , in the power management information, the amount of clean power that consumer A desires to be provided and the type of power generation method (in other words, the first information and second information included in the provision request), and the amount of clean power that has actually been provided and the type of power generation method are recorded in association with the identification information of consumer A. Note that the amount of clean power that consumer A desires to be provided and the type of power generation method are determined by the first information and second information included in the provision request acquired in step S13, and the amount of clean power that has actually been provided and the type of power generation method are determined by the notification information acquired in step S17.

[0046] Furthermore, the control unit 46 transmits a preparation completion notification, which indicates that the supply of clean power is now possible, to the control device 27 using the communication unit 41 (S19).

[0047] When the control device 27 receives the preparation completion notification, it commands the charging facility 25a to charge the electric vehicle 26 with power obtained from the grid 60 (S20). The charging of the electric vehicle 26 using power obtained from the grid 60 in step S20 is performed during approximately the same time period as the time period during which power is output from the clean power source to the grid 60 (the time period during which the processing of step S15 above is performed). Therefore, it can be considered that the charging of the electric vehicle 26 is performed using clean power.

[0048] In this way, the clean power supply system 10 can provide clean power to the consumer A, and the user of the consumer A can charge the electric vehicle 26 using the clean power even during times when power cannot be generated by the solar power generation system 21, such as at night. Note that it is not essential that the clean power be used to charge the electric vehicle 26, and the clean power may be used for other purposes, such as being consumed by a load 25 other than the charging facility 25a.

[0049] Furthermore, after receiving the control command, the control device 35 may not be able to output the power instructed by the control command. For example, this may occur when the remaining power storage capacity of the storage battery system 31 is zero or close to zero. In this way, when the amount of power output by the clean power source does not reach the amount indicated in the request for clean power provision, the control device 35 notifies the server system 40 by using the notification information in step S15 that it was unable to output some or all of the clean power instructed by the control command.

[0050] Upon receiving such a notification, the control unit 46 of the server system 40 instructs other power sources, such as a storage battery system (not shown) that stores non-clean electricity generated using fossil fuels, to output the shortage of electricity to the grid 60. The control unit 46 also uses the communication unit 41 to connect to a system (not shown) that sells non-fossil fuel certificates and purchases non-fossil fuel certificates corresponding to the shortage of electricity. In other words, the control unit 46 performs information processing to purchase non-fossil fuel certificates, thereby assigning an environmental value equivalent to that of clean electricity to the electricity output by the other power sources to the grid 60. This allows the clean electricity supply system 10 to provide the consumer A with electricity that has been assigned an environmental value equivalent to that of clean electricity.

[0051] In addition, if the control unit 46 is aware in advance, for example through advance notification, that clean electricity cannot be output from the clean power source, it may not instruct the control device 35 (clean power source) to output electricity, but instead instruct another power source to output electricity to the grid 60, and may also perform information processing to purchase a non-fossil certificate.

[0052] For simplicity, the case where there is only one consumer A has been described, but in reality, many consumers A and many consumers B participate in the clean power supply system 10, and the server system 40 performs the above operation so that when a consumer A requests the provision of clean electricity, the same amount of clean electricity as requested is output to the grid 60 from the clean power sources installed at one or more consumers B.

[0053] [Fees] The service of using the clean power supply system 10 is provided to the consumer A by the consumer A entering into a contract with the business operator. Under this contract, the fee paid by the consumer A to the business operator may be a flat rate based on the upper limit of clean power usage (a predetermined upper limit), or may be a pay-as-you-go rate.

[0054] In the case of a flat-rate system, if the upper limit of clean electricity usage in a specified period, such as one month, is 10 kWh, the fee is a yen, and if it is 20 kWh, the fee is b (> a) yen.The higher the upper limit of usage, the higher the fee that consumer A will pay to the business operator (in other words, the amount charged to consumer A).

[0055] 2 , in the case of the flat-rate system, each time a supply request is acquired by the acquisition unit 44, the recording unit 45 accumulates and records the amount of power indicated by the first information included in the acquired supply request until the amount reaches the upper limit of power usage. In this case, for example, power that exceeds the upper limit of power usage is not output from the clean power source to the grid 60.

[0056] In the case of such a flat-rate system, the billing unit 47 determines the amount to be billed to the consumer A according to the usage upper limit value. The billing unit 47 stores the amount to be billed to the consumer A in the storage unit 43 in association with the identification information of the consumer A.

[0057] On the other hand, in the case of a pay-as-you-go system, the amount charged to consumer A is determined according to the amount of usage over a specified period, such as one month, for example, if the amount of usage is less than 10 kWh, the amount is a yen, if the amount of usage is 10 kWh or more but less than 20 kWh, the amount is b (>a) yen, etc.

[0058] 2 , in the case of a pay-per-use system, the recording unit 45 accumulates and records the amount of power indicated by the first information included in the acquired supply request each time a supply request is acquired, and the billing unit 47 determines the amount to be charged to the consumer A according to the accumulated amount of power. The billing unit 47 stores the amount to be charged to the consumer A in the storage unit 43 in association with the identification information of the consumer A.

[0059] In the case of a pay-as-you-go system, the unit price of clean electricity may be changed for each time period, and for example, the server system 40 may periodically notify the control device 27 of the unit price of clean electricity. In this case, the control device 27 may display the current unit price of clean electricity on a display unit provided in the control device 27 when the above-mentioned predetermined operation is performed, and may request approval for the unit price of clean electricity from the user of consumer A.

[0060] [Modification] In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the power management information (ledger) is stored (recorded) in the storage unit 43 of the server system 40. However, the power management information may be recorded using blockchain technology. For example, the power management information may be shared by a large number of computers (such as a large number of control devices 27) corresponding to a large number of consumers A based on blockchain technology.

[0061] In the above embodiment, for the sake of simplicity, a distinction is made between consumer A who receives clean power and consumer B who supports the provision of clean power to consumer A. However, consumer A may receive clean power and also support the provision of clean power to other consumers. The same applies to consumer B.

[0062] [Effects, etc.] Hereinafter, examples of inventions obtained from the disclosure of this specification will be given, and effects, etc. obtained from the inventions will be described.

[0063] Invention 1 is an information processing method executed by a computer system such as a clean power supply system 10, and includes a step S13 of acquiring a request for clean power supply from a consumer A, the request including first information regarding the amount of clean power, and a first instruction step S14 of instructing a clean power source provided by another consumer B or a business to output the amount of clean power indicated by the first information to the grid 60 based on the acquired request for supply.

[0064] With this information processing method, when consumer A consumes power obtained from the grid 60, if the same amount of clean power as that power is output to the grid 60, consumer A's consumption of power obtained from the grid 60 can be regarded as consumption of clean power. In other words, the information processing method can provide clean power to consumer A.

[0065] Invention 2 is an information processing method of Invention 1, further including a second instruction step of instructing a power source other than the clean power source to output power to the grid 60 if, as a result of executing the first instruction step S14, the amount of power output by the clean power source does not reach the amount indicated by the first information, and a step of performing information processing to purchase a non-fossil certificate corresponding to the power output by the other power source.

[0066] Such an information processing method can provide consumer A with electricity that has been given an environmental value equivalent to that of clean electricity when there is a shortage of clean electricity.

[0067] Invention 3 is an information processing method of Invention 1, which further includes, instead of the first instruction step S14, a second instruction step of instructing a power source other than the clean power source to output electricity to the grid 60, and a step of performing information processing to purchase a non-fossil certificate corresponding to the electricity output by the other power source.

[0068] Such an information processing method can provide consumer A with electricity that has been given an environmental value equivalent to that of clean electricity when clean electricity cannot be provided.

[0069] Invention 4 is an information processing method according to any one of Inventions 1 to 3, in which the request for provision includes second information relating to at least one of the type of power generation method for the clean electricity that consumer A wishes to provide and the amount of greenhouse gas emissions generated when generating the clean electricity that consumer A wishes to provide, and the information processing method further includes a first recording step S18 of recording the first information and the second information in association with identification information for consumer A.

[0070] Such an information processing method can record the first information and the second information in association with customer A's identification information.

[0071] Invention 5 is an information processing method of Invention 4, in which, in the first recording step S18, each time a supply request is obtained, the amount of electricity indicated by the first information included in the obtained supply request is accumulated and recorded until it reaches a predetermined upper limit value, and the information processing method further includes a step of determining an amount to be charged to consumer A according to the predetermined upper limit value.

[0072] Such an information processing method can provide clean electricity to consumer A on a flat-rate rate plan.

[0073] Invention 6 is an information processing method of Invention 4, in which, in the first recording step S18, each time a supply request is obtained, the amount of electricity indicated by the first information included in the obtained supply request is accumulated and recorded, and the information processing method further includes a step of determining an amount to be charged to consumer A based on the accumulated amount of electricity.

[0074] Such an information processing method can provide clean electricity to consumer A on a pay-as-you-go rate plan.

[0075] Invention 7 is an information processing method of any of Inventions 1 to 6, further including a second recording step of recording at least one of the amount of electricity output by the clean power source as a result of the instruction and the type of power generation method used to generate the electricity output by the clean power source.

[0076] Such an information processing method can record the clean power supply record.

[0077] An eighth aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a computer system to execute any one of the information processing methods of the first to seventh aspects.

[0078] According to such a program, the computer system can provide clean electricity to consumer A.

[0079] Invention 9 is an information processing system comprising an acquisition unit 44 that acquires a request for the provision of clean electricity from consumer A, the request including first information regarding the amount of clean electricity, and a control unit 46 that, based on the acquired request for provision, instructs a clean power source provided by another consumer B or a business to output the amount of clean electricity indicated by the first information to a grid 60.

[0080] Such an information processing system can provide clean electricity to consumer A.

[0081] (Other Embodiments) Although the embodiments have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments.

[0082] For example, in the above embodiment, the clean power supply system is realized by a plurality of devices. In this case, the processes executed by the devices or systems included in the clean power supply system may be distributed to other devices or systems. For example, some or all of the processes executed by the server system may be executed by a control device. Also, the clean power supply system may be realized by a single device. The same applies to other systems.

[0083] In the above-described embodiment, the processing performed by a specific processing unit may be performed by another processing unit. The order of multiple processing operations may be changed, or multiple processing operations may be performed in parallel.

[0084] In the above-described embodiments, each component may be realized by executing a software program suitable for that component, or by a program execution unit such as a CPU or processor reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or semiconductor memory.

[0085] Furthermore, each component may be realized by hardware. For example, each component may be a circuit (or integrated circuit). These circuits may form a single circuit as a whole, or each may be a separate circuit. Furthermore, each of these circuits may be a general-purpose circuit or a dedicated circuit.

[0086] Furthermore, the general or specific aspects of the present invention may be realized as a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, or a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, or as any combination of a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, and a recording medium.

[0087] For example, the present invention may be realized as the clean power supply system, server system, or information processing system according to the above-described embodiments. Furthermore, the present invention may be realized as a method executed by a computer system such as a clean power supply system, server system, or information processing system, or as a program for causing a computer system to execute such a method. The present invention may also be realized as a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium on which such a program is recorded.

[0088] In addition, the present invention also includes forms obtained by applying various modifications to each embodiment that a person skilled in the art would think of, or forms realized by arbitrarily combining the components and functions of each embodiment within the scope of the present invention.

[0089] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Clean power supply system 20 Equipment group 21 Photovoltaic power generation system 22, 32, 34 Power conditioner 23, 31 Storage battery system 24 Distribution board 25 Load 25a Charging equipment 26 Electric vehicle 27 Control device 30 Equipment group 33 Fuel cell power generation system 35 Control device 40 Server system 41 Communication unit 42 Information processing unit 43 Storage unit 44 Acquisition unit 45 Recording unit 46 Control unit 47 Billing unit 50 Wide area communication network 60 System

Claims

1. An information processing method executed by a computer system, comprising: a step of acquiring a request for clean power supply from a consumer, the request including first information regarding the amount of clean power; and a first instruction step of instructing clean power sources provided by other consumers or businesses to output to the grid the amount of clean power indicated by the first information based on the acquired request for supply.

2. The information processing method of claim 1, further comprising: a second instruction step of instructing a power source other than the clean power source to output power to a grid if, as a result of executing the first instruction step, the amount of power output by the clean power source does not reach the amount indicated by the first information; and a step of performing information processing to purchase a non-fossil fuel certificate corresponding to the power output by the other power source.

3. The information processing method according to claim 1, further comprising, instead of the first instruction step, a second instruction step of instructing a power source other than the clean power source to output power to a grid, and a step of performing information processing to purchase a non-fossil fuel certificate corresponding to the power output by the other power source.

4. The information processing method of claim 1, wherein the request for provision includes second information relating to at least one of the type of power generation method for the clean power that the consumer wishes to provide and the amount of greenhouse gas emissions generated when the clean power that the consumer wishes to provide is generated, and the information processing method further includes a first recording step of recording the first information and the second information in association with identification information of the consumer.

5. The information processing method according to claim 4, wherein in the first recording step, each time a supply request is acquired, the amount of electricity indicated by the first information included in the acquired supply request is accumulated and recorded until it reaches a predetermined upper limit value, and the information processing method further includes a step of determining an amount to be charged to the consumer in accordance with the predetermined upper limit value.

6. The information processing method according to claim 4, wherein in the first recording step, each time a supply request is acquired, the amount of electricity indicated by the first information contained in the acquired supply request is accumulated and recorded, and the information processing method further includes a step of determining an amount to be charged to the consumer according to the accumulated amount of electricity.

7. The information processing method according to claim 1, further comprising a second recording step of recording at least one of the amount of power output by the clean power source and the type of power generation method used to generate the power output by the clean power source as a result of the instruction being given.

8. A program for causing the computer system to execute the information processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. An information processing system comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires a request for clean power supply from a consumer, the request including first information regarding the amount of clean power; and a control unit that, based on the acquired request for supply, instructs clean power sources provided by other consumers or businesses to output the amount of clean power indicated by the first information to the grid.

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