JP7634840B2 - Energy trading support device and energy trading support method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for supporting trading of energy such as electricity.

The market for microgrids and nanogrids is growing due to the increase in renewable energy generation to curb global warming, the increase in disaster-resistant energy supplies, and limitations on power grid capacity. In addition, a technology is known in which vehicles equipped with energy storage media travel between multiple nanogrids to circulate energy, thereby reducing the cost of storing energy and adjusting supply and demand, and reducing electricity costs and carbon dioxide emissions.

In addition, with the weakening of local transportation networks due to population decline, an increase in the number of people who have difficulty traveling or transporting themselves due to aging, and an increase in the number of people staying at home due to the spread of infectious diseases, there is a demand for technology to stabilize power supply from vehicles such as electric cars in addition to mobility services.

The following prior art is included as background art in this technical field: Patent Document 1 (JP 2006-50887 A) describes an energy supply method that recovers sensible heat from exhaust gas from power generation equipment, combustion equipment, or transport equipment in a virtual area (called an energy supply and demand grid) in which a plurality of energy consuming equipment is installed as _H2 or CO+ _H2 by reforming DME (dimethyl ether) or _CH3OH (methanol), and supplies the _H2 or CO+ _H2 to the energy supply and demand grid or to another energy supply and demand grid as fuel for the plurality of energy consuming equipment or as a chemical raw material (see claim 1).

Patent document 2 (JP Patent Publication 2011-155714A) describes a method for managing power in a group (microgrid) formed by small-scale power producers, consumers, and prosumers, and a method for trading power in the microgrid, in which a trading management server determines the price of power traded within a prosumer group, accepts buy and sell orders, and manages the success or failure of transactions.

JP 2006-50887 A JP 2011-155714 A

Patent Document 1 discloses energy circulation via vehicles between multiple energy supply and demand grids, but does not specifically state or suggest a method for energy trading between the parties related to the grid and other parties. When considering building multiple nanogrids in a given area and sharing energy across the multiple nanogrids using vehicles equipped with media that store energy, it becomes necessary to develop a method for energy trading between the parties involved.

On the other hand, Patent Document 2 discloses a transaction management server that accepts sell orders and buy orders input by individual small-scale prosumers via a controller, manages the success or failure of the transaction, and, when a transaction is concluded, instructs the controller of the small-scale prosumer that issued the sell order to provide electricity and instructs the controller of the small-scale prosumer that issued the buy order to receive electricity. However, there is no description of the details of determining whether a transaction is successful or not. Considering an independent regional energy system consisting of multiple nanogrids including renewable energy, storage batteries, and vehicles, the location of the nanogrids that need to be charged and discharged and the amount of electricity supplied by renewable energy are variable, so the time required for the movement of vehicles that transport energy via storage batteries when energy is exchanged between nanogrids is also variable. Patent Document 2 describes the acquisition of map information of the current location of an electric vehicle and charging spots, but only uses it to calculate the surplus power of the electric vehicle and the area in which the electric vehicle can move, and does not describe a method of supporting energy trading that takes into account the location of grids from which electricity needs to be purchased, the location of grids from which electricity can be sold, the current location of electric vehicles capable of transporting electricity, and the resulting changes in transportation time (vehicle travel time).

The present invention aims to provide an energy trading support device that supports energy trading that is beneficial to both the energy supplier and the energy demander while realizing energy circulation across multiple nanogrids by taking into account the energy transport time and the energy charging and discharging locations that vary depending on the situation.

A representative example of the invention disclosed in this application is as follows. That is, an energy trading support device that supports energy trading is configured by a computer having an arithmetic unit that executes a predetermined process and a storage device connected to the arithmetic unit, and is characterized by having a memory unit that stores the positions of multiple nanogrids, a reception unit that receives order information for power trading in the multiple nanogrids, a calculation unit that calculates a travel time of a vehicle based on the order information and the positions of the multiple nanogrids and creates one or more tentative schedules for the vehicle based on the travel time, and a contract feasibility determination unit that determines whether or not energy trading between the multiple nanogrids can be contracted based on the created tentative schedules.

According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to take into account the variable travel time of vehicles and the locations where energy is charged and discharged, realize energy transactions within the possible range, and promote energy circulation. Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will be made clear through the explanation of the following examples.

1 is a diagram showing an overview of a regional energy system including multiple nanogrids managed by an energy trading support device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the flow of power and information in a nanogrid and an electric vehicle managed by an energy trading support device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an energy trading support device, a nanogrid, and an electric vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram of a process for registering nanogrid information in the energy trading support apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a physical configuration of an energy trading support device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of processing performed by a contract feasibility determination unit in an embodiment of the present invention. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process for outputting a tentative schedule by a calculation unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of location information according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of facility information according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of order information according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a diagram showing the location of a nanogrid managed by an energy trading support device according to an embodiment of the present invention, an EV driving route, node information held by a map information storage unit, and the contents of a link information table. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a simulation result showing that the energy trading support device according to the embodiment of the present invention improves the power usage efficiency. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a determination by a calculation unit according to an embodiment of the present invention as to whether or not a corresponding schedule for a buy order or a sell order can be inserted. 4 is a diagram showing an example of EV schedule information stored in an EV schedule storage unit according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of tentative schedule information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 1 is a diagram showing an overview of a regional energy system including multiple nanogrids 10 managed by an energy trading support device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, where solid lines indicate the travel routes of electric vehicles 30 and dotted lines indicate communication lines for transmitting information. The energy trading support device 100 is connected to multiple nanogrids 10 so that it can communicate with them.

The nanogrid 10 has a power source that generates electricity, a load that consumes electricity, and a power control device (not shown) that controls the amount of electricity generated and the electricity consumption. The nanogrid 10 may have a storage battery that stores electricity to fill the gap between electricity supply and demand. The power source is a device that generates electricity mainly from renewable energy sources such as solar power generation, wind power generation, geothermal power generation, and fuel generators that can generate electricity using biomass fuel. The load is equipment that consumes electricity within the nanogrid 10, agricultural machinery, and power transmission to public facilities such as gymnasiums, community centers, and schools. In addition, electric vehicles 30 that run within the area also consume electricity and become loads.

The energy trading support device 100 is connected to multiple nanogrids 10 so that it can communicate with them. The power control device of the nanogrid 10 manages the power supply and demand state of the nanogrid 10. The energy trading support device 100 receives multiple pieces of power order information from the power control device of each nanogrid 10, manages power transactions based on the received order information, and sends instructions to the electric vehicle 30 regarding charging/discharging and movement. The energy trading support device 100 also outputs the calculation results to the operator 200 of the energy trading power market.

In an area including nanogrids 10, at least one electric vehicle 30, which is a vehicle that runs on electricity, travels between nanogrids 10 using charged electricity. The electric vehicle 30 may be a delivery truck, an on-demand bus, a taxi, or the like that transports cargo or people within the area. The electric vehicle 30 is equipped with a rechargeable and dischargeable battery for running. In addition, the electric vehicle 30 is equipped with a rechargeable and dischargeable battery for power transport, and is charged at a specific nanogrid 10 according to the results of power trading, and discharged at another nanogrid 10, thereby adjusting the power supply and demand between the multiple nanogrids 10. The battery for power transport and the battery for running may be the same battery or different batteries. The electric vehicle 30 is preferably equipped with a battery that can be quickly charged, but may also be equipped with a battery that can only be normally charged, or a battery that can be easily replaced in a short time.

The electric vehicle 30 is preferably an electric vehicle that runs on charged electricity, but may also be a vehicle that runs on energy from an internal combustion engine or a fuel cell. In this case, the nanogrid 10 provides the power traded between multiple nanogrids 10 to the power transmission battery of the electric vehicle 30. Also, it may not be an electric vehicle, but may be a hydrogen vehicle equipped with a power transmission battery that can be charged and discharged.

Figure 2 shows the flow of power and information in the nanogrid 10 and electric vehicle 30 managed by the energy trading support device 100 of an embodiment of the present invention, where the dotted lines show the flow of information and the dashed lines show the transportation of power by the electric vehicle 30.

The nanogrid 10 balances the supply and demand of electricity among multiple nanogrids 10, and in principle is self-sufficient in electricity in a local energy system composed of multiple nanogrids 10. However, it may be connected to a power system (not shown) so that electricity can be supplied from the power system of a power transmission and distribution company. In this case, a switch may be provided between the power system and the nanogrid 10, and when the switch is closed, electricity can be supplied from the power system to the nanogrid 10. Note that there are DC nanogrids that supply DC power and AC nanogrids that supply AC power. In the case of a DC nanogrid, an inverter that converts AC power supplied from the power system to DC power may be provided between the power system and the DC nanogrid.

The electric vehicle 30 travels between nanogrids 10 in accordance with the results of the power trading, transporting electricity from one nanogrid 10 to another. At this time, people or cargo may be transported in accordance with the driving of the electric vehicle 30. The electric vehicle 30 is communicatively connected to the energy trading support device 100, and receives instructions such as movement, charging and discharging, and sends information such as the start of movement, completion of movement, start of charging, start of discharging, and amount of stored electricity to the energy trading support device 100.

The energy trading support device 100 notifies the energy trading power market operator 200 that manages the energy trading support device 100 of the order history, contract history, and power transportation plan by electric vehicles 30 of multiple nanogrids 10 calculated by the process described below. The energy trading support device 100 may also notify the nanogrid 10 of the contract history and order history related to the nanogrid.

Figure 5 shows the physical configuration of the energy trading support device 100 in this embodiment.

The energy trading support device 100 of this embodiment is composed of a computer having a processor (CPU) 101, memory 102, auxiliary storage device 103, and communication interface 104.

The processor 101 executes a program stored in the memory 102. Note that some of the processing performed by the processor 101 executing the program may be executed by another computing device (e.g., a hardware computing device such as an FPGA or ASIC).

The memory 102 includes a ROM, which is a non-volatile storage element, and a RAM, which is a volatile storage element. The ROM stores unchanging programs (e.g., BIOS) and the like. The RAM is a high-speed, volatile storage element such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), and temporarily stores programs executed by the processor 101 and data used when the programs are executed.

The auxiliary storage device 103 is a large-capacity, non-volatile storage device such as a magnetic storage device (HDD) or a flash memory (SSD), and stores the programs executed by the processor 101 and data used when the programs are executed. That is, the programs are read from the auxiliary storage device 103, loaded into the memory 102, and executed by the processor 101.

The communication interface 104 is a network interface device that controls communication with other devices (such as the power control device in the nanogrid 10 and the electric vehicle 30) according to a specified protocol.

The energy trading support device 100 may have an input interface 105 and an output interface 108. The input interface 105 is an interface to which a keyboard 106, a mouse 107, etc. are connected and which receives input from the operator 200. The output interface 108 is an interface to which a display device 109, a printer (not shown), etc. are connected and which outputs the results of program execution in a format that can be viewed by the operator 200. Note that a terminal connected to the energy trading support device 100 via a network may provide the input interface 105 and the output interface 108.

The program executed by the processor 101 is provided to the energy trading support device 100 via removable media (CD-ROM, flash memory, etc.) or a network, and is stored in a non-volatile auxiliary storage device 103, which is a non-transitory storage medium. For this reason, it is preferable that the energy trading support device 100 has an interface for reading data from removable media.

The energy trading support device 100 is a computer system configured on one physical computer or on multiple logically or physically configured computers, and may operate in one or multiple threads on the same computer, or may operate on a virtual computer constructed on multiple physical computer resources. Each part of the energy trading support device 100 may operate on a different computer.

Figure 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the energy trading support device 100, nanogrid 10, and electric vehicle 30 (EV) in this embodiment.

The energy trading support device 100 is a device that supports energy trading between multiple nanogrids 10, and includes a memory unit 304 that stores information including the location information of the multiple nanogrids 10 and facility information of the multiple nanogrids 10, a reception unit 301 that receives order information for power trading between the multiple nanogrids 10 and outputs the order information to a contract feasibility determination unit 302 and a calculation unit 303, a calculation unit 303 that calculates the travel time of the electric vehicle 30 based on the received order information and the location information of the multiple nanogrids 10 extracted from the memory unit 304, and creates multiple tentative schedules for the electric vehicle 30 based on the travel time, and a contract feasibility determination unit 302 that determines whether or not energy trading between the multiple nanogrids 10 can be contracted based on the multiple tentative schedules. Details of the processing by the reception unit 301, the contract feasibility determination unit 302, and the calculation unit 303 will be described later.

The energy trading support device 100 has an external communication unit 305 and is capable of communicating with multiple nanogrids 10 and multiple electric vehicles 30 via a wide area communication network. The reception unit 301 receives order information for power trading from the external communication devices 321 of the multiple nanogrids 10 via the external communication unit 305. The wide area communication network is, for example, the Internet, but may be any other type of network.

The nanogrid 10 has an external communication device 321 that enables communication with the energy trading support device 100 and multiple electric vehicles 30 via a wide area communication network, and a power input/output device 325 that exchanges power with the multiple electric vehicles 30. It also has at least one of a distributed power source 322 that is a device that generates power using the renewable energy described above, a storage battery 323 that can be charged and discharged, and a power load 324 that is equipment that consumes power. Note that multiple nanogrids with similar configurations are deployed.

The electric vehicle 30 has an external communication device 331 that enables communication with the energy trading support device 100 and multiple nanogrids 10 via a wide area communication network, a power input/output device 334 that receives and transmits power to and from the multiple nanogrids 10, a storage battery 333 that can be charged and discharged, and a drive device 332 for driving the electric vehicle 30. As long as the internal configuration is the same, the specific configuration is not important. The electric vehicle 30 may have an automatic driving function, or may be a vehicle that runs by manually operating the drive device 332. Note that multiple electric vehicles 30 with similar functions may be deployed.

The nanogrid 10 manages the power supply and demand within the nanogrid 10 using a power control device (not shown) installed alongside it, and transmits a power buy order or sell order from the external communication device 321 to the energy trading support device 100 based on at least one of the predicted power generation amount of the distributed power source 322, the amount of power stored in the storage battery 323, and the power demand by the power load 324. The power order may be transmitted by an algorithm of the power control device or by operation of the administrator of the nanogrid 10. The predicted power generation amount of the distributed power source 322 and the power demand by the power load 324 may be calculated by a known method. For example, a method of using the demand amount corresponding to the previous year, month, or week, or the previous day as a predicted value, or a method of using an average of a time period on a yearly, monthly, or weekly basis from past data, may be considered. In addition, the electric vehicle 30 may independently determine and generate a power buy order or sell order according to the amount of power stored in the storage battery 333 and the destination, and transmit the order to the energy trading support device 100 from the external communication device 331. In this case, the electric vehicle 30 must be equipped with a management device having functions equivalent to the power control device of the nanogrid 10, and one electric vehicle 30 functions in the same way as the nanogrid 10.

Returning to the description of the energy trading support device 100, the storage unit 304 of the energy trading support device 100 includes an EV schedule storage unit 311 that stores the operation schedule of the electric vehicle 30 calculated by the calculation unit 303, an authentication information storage unit 312 that stores authentication information used to inquire about various registered information from the nanogrid 10, a map information storage unit 313 that stores map information of each nanogrid 10 used to calculate the travel distance between multiple nanogrids 10 and the travel distance between the current location of the electric vehicle 30 and the nanogrid 10, a facility information storage unit 314 that stores facility information owned by the nanogrid 10, a location information storage unit 315 that stores location information of the multiple nanogrids 10, and an order information storage unit 316 that stores order information accepted by the acceptance unit 301.

Figure 4 is a sequence diagram of the process of registering various information of the nanogrid 10, with the direction of information and notification indicated by solid lines. Various communications are performed by the external communication device 321, wide area communication network, and external communication unit 305 shown in Figure 3.

The administrator of the nanogrid 10 registers authentication information, location information, and equipment information related to the nanogrid 10 and transmits them to the reception unit 301 (S401). The authentication information may be an ID or password, or an electronic signature using public key cryptography, but is not limited to these, and may be any known method capable of authentication. When the reception unit 301 receives a registration from the nanogrid 10, it first inquires whether there is known registered information in the authentication information storage unit 312 (S402). If the inquired information has already been registered, the authentication information storage unit 312 returns the registered ID to the reception unit 301, transmits a registration notification to the nanogrid 10, and terminates the process (S403). If it is confirmed that the inquired information is a new registration, the reception unit 301 confirms the authenticity of the registered information (S404). Specifically, the authenticity can be confirmed by outputting each of the registered authentication information, location information, and equipment information on a screen connected to the energy trading support device 100 and having the market operator 200 directly check whether the information is correct on-site, or by having the administrator of the nanogrid 10 input a unique identifier such as the UUID (Universally Unique Identifier) of the equipment in question, or by connecting the equipment in question to the network via a power control device and directly obtaining the UUID from the equipment information to confirm the authenticity of the registered information. If the authenticity can be confirmed by these methods, the reception unit 301 performs various registration processes (S405).

Specifically, in the registration process (S405), the reception unit 301 registers the issued new ID and authentication information of the nanogrid 10 in the authentication information storage unit 312, registers the new ID of the nanogrid 10 and the location information of the nanogrid 10 in the location information storage unit 315, registers the new ID of the nanogrid 10 and the equipment information of the nanogrid 10 in the equipment information storage unit 314, and receives a registration completion notification from each. As a result, the new ID of the nanogrid 10 and various information are associated and registered in the storage unit 304, and the energy trading support device 100 becomes able to use various information related to the nanogrid 10. If all the information is registered correctly, the reception unit 301 transmits a registration completion notification to the nanogrid 10 and completes the process (S406). If the authenticity cannot be confirmed, the reception unit 301 notifies the nanogrid 10 of an abnormality and completes the process.

Figure 8 is a diagram showing an example of the location information of the nanogrid 10. The location of the nanogrid is the location where the power input/output device 325 is located. The location information stored in the location information storage unit 315 may be in any form as long as it can express the location of the nanogrid 10 and the travel time of the electric vehicle 30 between two nanogrids can be calculated using the location information. Three examples are shown in Figure 8 (a), Figure 8 (b), and Figure 8 (c). In any case, the location information is composed of a nanogrid ID 1002 that identifies the nanogrid 10 and location information. The location of the nanogrid may be the location where the storage battery is located. In addition, the location may be information indicating a certain range, not necessarily indicating a specific point, as long as it is possible to roughly calculate the travel time by the vehicle.

In FIG. 8(a), the location information is composed of longitude 801 and latitude 802. To eliminate ambiguity, it is desirable that each has a significant digit of about 1/100,000 to 1/10,000. In FIG. 8(b), the location information is composed of node ID 803, which is a numerical value indicating a node on a map. The node ID 803 corresponds to information in a map information table, which will be described later. The data specified in the node information table and link information table stored in the map information storage unit 313 are associated with each other (described later in FIG. 13). In FIG. 8(c), the location information is composed of a character string indicating an address. To eliminate ambiguity in expression, it is desirable to unify the format when registering in the location information storage unit 315. When the location information is indicated by an address, the distance between two nanogrids may be obtained by using an external map service. Similarly, the travel time may be obtained by using an external transfer guide service, or may be calculated from the distance obtained from the external map service and the average travel speed of the electric vehicle 30.

Figure 9 is a diagram showing an example of equipment information. The equipment information stored in the equipment information storage unit 314 is used to consider restrictions on the transfer of power, and stores at least information indicating the charging and discharging performance of the power input/output device 325 possessed by each nanogrid 10. As an example, two types are shown in Figures 9(a) and 9(b). If the nanogrid 10 has multiple power input/output devices 325, the information in the power input/output device specifications list 901 increases by the number of power input/output devices 325. Here, charging the nanogrid 10 means that the nanogrid 10 receives power (for example, charging the storage battery 323), and discharging from the nanogrid 10 means that the nanogrid 10 supplies power to the electric vehicle 30 or the like (for example, discharging the storage battery 323).

In FIG. 9(a), the facility information is composed of a nanogrid ID 1002 and a power input/output device specification list 901 indicating the device specifications. Each power input/output device specification list 901 has at least one element, and duplicate registration of the same type of power input/output device is permitted. The power input/output device specification list 901 is composed of a list of pairs of maximum charging speed and maximum discharging speed. In the example of FIG. 9(a), the (5kW, 5kW) portion indicates that a power input/output device with a maximum charging speed of 5kW and a maximum discharging speed of 5kW is included in nanogrid ID1. Two other power input/output devices are included in nanogrid ID1.

In FIG. 9(b), the equipment information is managed in two tables, and includes a power input/output device ID list 902 in which a nanogrid ID 1002 and a power input/output device ID 903 for identifying a power input/output device 325 owned by the nanogrid are listed. Each power input/output device ID list 902 has at least one element, and duplicate registration of the same type of power input/output device is permitted. Furthermore, the specifications of the power input/output device ID 903 are managed in association with the ID, and for example, a maximum charging rate 904 and a maximum discharging rate 905 are registered. As shown in FIG. 9(b), by cataloging the power input/output devices 325 that can be installed in the nanogrid 10 in advance, the administrator of the nanogrid 10 can avoid inputting complicated specifications. Note that even if the catalog information of the power input/output device 325 is not input in advance to the equipment information storage unit 314, the input information can be compared with the information of the power input/output device 325 already registered, and candidates for devices that may be applicable are presented, thereby omitting input when registering the power input/output device 325. This is not only convenient for the administrator, but also reduces the possibility of accidents caused by power input/output according to erroneously registered information. The equipment information may also include information on the terminal specifications of the power input/output device 325. By using the terminal specification information, when standards cannot be unified, terminal constraints can be taken into account when scheduling EVs, as described below.

Figure 4 describes the sequence in which the reception unit 301 receives various registration information related to the nanogrid 10, but the reception unit 301 also receives order information, including orders to buy electricity or sell electricity, from the nanogrid 10.

10 is a diagram showing an example of order information received by the reception unit 301. The order information is managed for each order ID 1001, and includes a nanogrid ID 1002 for identifying the nanogrid 10, a buying and selling unit price 1003 indicating the desired buying and selling unit price of electricity, an order amount 1004 indicating the ordered amount of electricity, a start time 1005 indicating the start time when electricity can be exchanged calculated from the power situation of the nanogrid 10, and an end time 1006 indicating the end time of the period when electricity can be exchanged calculated from the power situation of the nanogrid 10. The order amount 1004 indicates a buy order if its value is positive, and indicates a sell order if its value is negative. Note that buying and selling may be distinguished by positive and negative, or may be represented by a separate buying and selling flag indicated by 1 or 0. Note that buying and selling of the order amount may not always be completed depending on the status of other nanogrids 10, and one order may be divided and executed multiple times. The reception unit 301 receives the order information shown in FIG. 10 and the above-mentioned authentication information from the nanogrid 10, and stores the received order information in the order information storage unit 316.

Figure 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing of the calculation unit 303 of the energy trading support device 100 in this embodiment, and shows the processing for calculating a tentative schedule, which is a proposed schedule for the electric vehicle 30 to respond to each of the selling orders and buying orders.

First, the calculation unit 303 acquires the order information stored in the order information storage unit 316 (S701). The order information includes the contents shown in FIG. 10.

Next, the calculation unit 303 acquires the EV schedule information stored in the EV schedule storage unit 311 (S702).

Figure 14 is a diagram showing an example of EV schedule information stored in the EV schedule storage unit 311, showing schedules for two electric vehicles 30 as an example. The EV schedule information is composed of an EVID 1502 that identifies the electric vehicle 30, and an action list 1402 that describes the actions of the electric vehicle 30. As shown in the action list 1402, the schedule of the electric vehicle 30 may be expressed as a sequence of actions managed in a queue. The sequence of actions is composed of a movement command, an operation command, a scheduled arrival time, and a scheduled departure time.

The movement command commands the electric vehicle 30 to move to a specified location, for example, move to X, which indicates movement to a point (X). In addition, the operation command is, for example, charge, which commands charging or discharging a specified amount of power, or stay, which commands waiting or stopping at the current location. Note that when the operation command is stay, the estimated departure time is not defined. A numerical value is written after charge, and for example, charge 50 indicates that the electric vehicle 30 receives power from the nanogrid 10 (charging from the EV's point of view), and charge -50 indicates that the electric vehicle 30 passes power to the nanogrid 10 (discharging from the EV's point of view). In FIG. 14, the electric vehicle 30 managed by EVID1 arrives at point X at 10:10, charges a storage battery with 50 kW of power, and departs from point X at 10:30. It then moves to point Y, arrives at point Y at 11:00, discharges 50 kW of power from the storage battery to the power input/output device 325 of the nanogrid 10, and departs from point Y at 11:20. It then moves to point D, arrives at 11:30, and then indicates an instruction to wait at point D. In this way, the electric vehicle 30 is managed in a queue with multiple schedules.

The EV schedule information may represent the charging/discharging and movement of the electric vehicle 30 that is created by the energy trading support device 100 of this embodiment and then recorded in the EV schedule storage unit 311, or may be a schedule such as a destination and scheduled time originally planned for each electric vehicle 30, regardless of this embodiment. If the electric vehicle 30 is an on-demand bus, it may be associated with an operating schedule such as the location of a bus stop and scheduled departure and arrival times. Furthermore, although an example of an operation command to the electric vehicle 30 is shown, the electric vehicle 30 that receives the operation command may realize the operation by automatic driving of the vehicle, or may realize the operation by the driver's driving operation according to the display on the display mounted on the vehicle. Since it is not the essence of this embodiment, there are no particular limitations on the method of realizing the command by the electric vehicle 30.

Returning to the explanation of FIG. 7, after S702, the calculation unit 303 acquires the location information of the multiple nanogrids 10 that have transmitted the order information from the location information storage unit 315 (S703). The location information is, for example, information such as that shown in FIG. 8.

The calculation unit 303 creates buy and sell order pairs, which are pairs of sell orders and buy orders, based on all the order information acquired from the order information storage unit 316. Then, the calculation unit 303 executes the following processing for all the created buy and sell order pairs (S704).

The calculation unit 303 executes the process from S705 onwards for each EVID 1502 based on all the acquired EV schedules. First, for any time in the order of the behavior of the electric vehicle 30 managed in the queue, it is determined whether the corresponding schedule of the sell order can be inserted into the EV schedule based on the available start time and available end time of the order information (S706). Here, the scheduled departure time, scheduled arrival time and destination of the EV schedule of the electric vehicle 30 already created are referenced, and the travel time of the electric vehicle 30 is calculated based on the current position of the electric vehicle 30 and the position of the nanogrid 10 to which the sell order and the buy order were transmitted, and it is determined that the corresponding schedule of the order can be inserted if the existing EV schedule and the corresponding schedule of the order do not overlap in time. If it is determined that the corresponding schedule of the sell order can be inserted, the corresponding schedule of the order is created as a tentative behavior of the electric vehicle 30 and recorded in the EV schedule storage unit 311 (S707). On the other hand, for electric vehicles 30 for which it is determined that a corresponding schedule for the sell order cannot be inserted, processing proceeds to the next electric vehicle 30.

Then, the calculation unit 303 determines whether or not a schedule corresponding to the buy order can be inserted into any time in the order of the electric vehicle 30's behavior managed by the queue, based on the available start time and available end time of the order information (S708). Here, the calculation unit 303 refers to the scheduled departure time, scheduled arrival time, and destination of the already created schedule column of the electric vehicle 30, and calculates the travel time of the electric vehicle 30 based on the current position of the electric vehicle 30 and the position of the nanogrid 10 to which the sell order and buy order were sent, and determines whether or not a schedule corresponding to the buy order can be inserted into the schedule column. If it is determined that a schedule corresponding to the buy order can be inserted, the calculation unit 303 creates a schedule corresponding to the buy order as a tentative behavior of the electric vehicle 30 and records it in the EV schedule storage unit 311 (S709). On the other hand, for the electric vehicle 30 for which it is determined that a schedule corresponding to the buy order cannot be inserted, the process proceeds to the next electric vehicle 30.

When determining whether or not the buy order and the sell order can be inserted in steps S706 and S708, the calculation unit 303 calculates the travel time of the electric vehicle 30 based on the position of the electric vehicle 30, the position of the nanogrid that sent the buy order, and the position of the nanogrid that sent the sell order, and determines whether or not the electric vehicle 30 will arrive in time for the scheduled arrival time based on the calculated travel time, thereby creating a tentative behavior. After that, the calculation unit 303 creates the tentative schedule information shown in FIG. 15 based on the tentative behavior regarding the sell order and the tentative behavior regarding the buy order recorded in the EV schedule storage unit 311, and records the EVID 1502, the buy order ID 1503, and the sell order ID 1506 in the EV schedule storage unit 311 in association with the tentative schedule ID 1501 (710). The calculation unit 303 creates a tentative schedule for the electric vehicle 30 by executing the process related to the loop in S705 described above for all the created buy and sell order pairs.

Figure 13 is a diagram showing the determination of whether or not the corresponding schedules for buy orders and sell orders in steps S706 and S708 can be inserted. The horizontal direction is the direction of time, and the diagram shows the schedules of three electric vehicles 30, EV1 to EV3, from 9:00 a.m. to just after 11:00 a.m. The line segment 1301 with the diamond end point indicates the time required for charging and discharging in the nanogrid, the line segment 1302 with the arrow end point indicates the time required for the electric vehicle 30 to move, and the line segment 1303 with the circle end point indicates the time between the start time 1005 and the end time 1006 of the power transfer possible time of the buy order or sell order for which the insertion possible or not is determined. The number of the nanogrid corresponding to the order is shown above the line segment 1303 with each circle end point. In the diagram, nanogrid 4 corresponds to the sell order for which the insertion possible or not is being determined, and nanogrid 8 corresponds to the buy order for which the insertion possible or not is being determined. Here, a pair of a sell order for nanogrid 4 and a buy order for nanogrid 8 is a provisional buy/sell order pair created by the calculation unit 303.

The calculation unit 303 acquires the EV schedule of the electric vehicle EV1, and calculates the charging and discharging times (1304, 1305, and 1306) at nanogrid 3, nanogrid 5, and nanogrid 2, and the travel time (1307 and 1308) of the vehicle. In addition, the location information of nanogrid 4 that is sending the sell order is acquired, and the travel time by the vehicle is calculated by comparing it with the location information of nanogrid 3 in the previous schedule. Then, the movement to nanogrid 4 and charging and discharging are performed during the transferable time of nanogrid 4, and it is determined whether it is possible to return to the original schedule. In the example of FIG. 13, the charging and discharging time 1304 at nanogrid 3, the travel time 1307 from nanogrid 3 to nanogrid 5, and the charging and discharging time 1305 at nanogrid 5 have already been scheduled, and it is determined that the insertion of the sell order of nanogrid 4 is not possible. Since it is determined that the insertion of the sell order is not possible, the process proceeds to the determination of the next electric vehicle 30 without creating a tentative action of EV1 (S705 in FIG. 7). In addition, Figure 13 shows that EV1 is able to respond to buy orders (Nanogrid 8).

Next, the calculation unit 303 performs the same process for the electric vehicle EV2. The EV schedule of EV2 is acquired, and the travel time 1311 to nanogrid 1 and the travel time 1312 from nanogrid 1 to nanogrid 12 are calculated from the charging and discharging times (1309 and 1310) and the location information of the previous schedule. Furthermore, the location information of nanogrid 4 of the sell order is acquired, and the travel time 1313 by vehicle to nanogrid 4 is calculated from the location information of the previous schedule. In addition, the time required for charging is calculated from the specifications of the power input/output device 325 of nanogrid 4 and the order amount included in the sell order, and the time 1314 required for charging after the arrival of nanogrid 4 is added. Next, the travel time 1315 from nanogrid 4 to the originally scheduled nanogrid 1 is calculated based on the nanogrid location information. The travel time and charging time for responding to the sell order calculated in this way are added together, and it is determined whether or not it is possible to respond to the originally scheduled operation such as charging and discharging at nanogrid 1 in terms of time. Each of the dotted line segments in FIG. 13 indicates the time required when an order is inserted. In the example of EV2, since its previous action was "stay" or its previous schedule was far enough away in time, it is able to move in time with nanogrid 4's start time for receiving electricity and receive power.

In the same way as for selling orders, it is determined whether EV2 can handle the nanogrid 8 that has sent the buy order. Since the process is similar, details will be omitted, but EV2 in Figure 13 is shown to be able to handle buy orders (nanogrid 8). In this way, for electric vehicles 30 that have been determined to be able to insert both schedules into a tentative pair of selling and buying orders, a tentative schedule ID is assigned based on the schedules for each movement and charging/discharging created as tentative actions, and a tentative schedule is created. If the nanogrid that sent the new order is located on the originally planned movement route of the two nanogrids, it may happen that the travel time does not change.

On the other hand, there may be cases where there is sufficient time between charging and discharging 1316 at nanogrid 7 and charging and discharging 1322 at nanogrid 10, such as electric vehicle EV3. In this case, it is determined that a response to the sell order and the buy order can be inserted by the same process as described above, and the travel time 1317 from nanogrid 7 to nanogrid 4, the charging time 1318 at nanogrid 4, the travel time 1319 from nanogrid 4 to nanogrid 8, the discharging time 1320 at nanogrid 8, and the travel time 1321 from nanogrid 8 to nanogrid 10 are calculated, a tentative action including the charging and discharging time and the travel time is created, and a tentative schedule for EV3 is created.

In S704 to S710 in FIG. 7, a tentative schedule is created for all buy/sell order pairs and all corresponding electric vehicles 30, and the tentative schedule that can be created with the corresponding schedule of the orders inserted is output to the contract feasibility determination unit 302 or stored in the EV schedule storage unit 311, and the calculation unit 303 ends the process of creating the tentative schedule (S711).

Figure 15 (a) is a table diagram showing an example of tentative schedule information. As explained in Figure 13, tentative schedule information is information indicating possible schedules (such as travel) for the electric vehicle 30 if a given pair of buy and sell orders is executed. The tentative schedule information is managed for each tentative schedule ID 1501, and includes an EVID 1502 that identifies the electric vehicle 30 for which the tentative schedule is to be formulated. As shown in Figure 15 (b), the EVID 1502 manages schedules 1521-1524 as a queue, which include the destination, scheduled departure time, and scheduled arrival time for the day formulated by a system that manages the operation of the electric vehicle 30.

In FIG. 15(b), an example is shown in which tentative schedule ID1 corresponds to a sell order between schedule 2 (1522) and schedule 3 (1523) (electricity is received by the battery of the electric vehicle 30, etc.) and corresponds to a buy order between schedule 3 (1523) and schedule 4 (1524) (discharging from the battery of the electric vehicle 30), and the insertion positions of the sell order and the buy order are not consecutive (the example in FIG. 13 shows a schedule such as EV2). In addition, an example is shown in which tentative schedule ID2 corresponds to a sell order and a buy order between schedule 3 (1523) and schedule 4 (1524), and the insertion positions of the sell order and the buy order are consecutive (the example in FIG. 13 shows a schedule such as EV3).

In this way, the tentative schedule is constructed on the assumption that the electric vehicle 30 will be inserted into a position in the previously planned schedule sequence.

15(a), the tentative schedule information further includes a sell order ID 1503 for identifying the sell order received by the reception unit 301, a sell order earliest arrival time 1504 indicating the time at which the electric vehicle 30 will arrive at the location of the nanogrid 10 from which the sell order was sent if it departs earliest after the completion of the operation on the previous nanogrid 10, and a sell order latest departure time 1505 indicating the latest time at which the electric vehicle 30 should depart from the nanogrid 10 from which the sell order was sent in order to arrive in time for the scheduled arrival time of the next schedule (schedule 3 in the example of tentative schedule 1 in FIG. 8(b)) after the time at which the tentative schedule was inserted after responding to the sell order. Furthermore, the tentative schedule information includes a sell order use equipment IDx 1511 specifying the power input/output device 325 to be used for charging associated with the sell order. For example, this IDx is used to specify which device is to be used on the list registered in the power input/output device specifications list 901 or the power input/output device ID list 902 described in FIG. 9.

Furthermore, the tentative schedule information includes a buy order ID 1506 for identifying the buy order received by the reception unit 301, a buy order earliest arrival time 1507 indicating the time at which the electric vehicle 30 will arrive at the position of the nanogrid 10 from which the buy order was sent if it departs earliest after the operation of the previous nanogrid is completed, and a buy order latest departure time 1508 indicating the latest time at which the electric vehicle 30 should depart from the nanogrid 10 from which the buy order was sent in order to make it in time for the scheduled arrival time of the next schedule (schedule 4 in the example of tentative schedule 1 in FIG. 8(b)) after the time at which the tentative schedule was inserted after responding to the buy order. Furthermore, the tentative schedule information includes a buy order use equipment IDx 1512 that specifies the power input/output device 325 to be used for discharging associated with the buy order. Note that the sell order ID 1503 and the buy order ID 1506 are the same as the order ID 1001 in FIG. 10, and are classified as a buy order ID or a sell order ID after being determined to be a buy order or a sell order based on the order amount, etc.

The tentative schedule information includes travel time 1509, which indicates information about the travel time between the nanogrid that sent the sell order and the nanogrid that sent the buy order for which the tentative schedule is created. Tentative schedule ID 2 shows a case where a sell order and a buy order are inserted consecutively, but since the arrival time of the buy order at the nanogrid changes depending on the time the sell order starts to travel from the nanogrid of the sell order to the nanogrid of the buy order, the latest sell order departure time 1505 and the earliest buy order arrival time 1507 are not defined, and 30 minutes of travel time 1509 are stored.

As shown by the tentative schedule IDs 2 and 3 in FIG. 15, different tentative schedules may be registered for different order combinations even if the same electric vehicle (EVID3) is the target. Also, as shown by the tentative schedule IDs 3 and 4, different tentative schedules may be registered for different electric vehicles 30 even if the order combination is the same. The calculation unit 303 outputs the tentative schedules created in this way to the contract feasibility determination unit 302.

Figure 6 is a flowchart showing an example of processing performed by the contract feasibility determination unit 302 of the energy trading support device 100. First, the contract feasibility determination unit 302 receives input of electricity order information received from the nanogrid 10 by the reception unit 301 (S601). To confirm the authenticity of the order, the order information is authenticated using authentication information registered in advance. In the explanation of Figure 6, the order information input in S601 is referred to as "target order information."

The execution possibility determination unit 302 determines whether the target order information is a buy order or a sell order (S602). This determination is made based on the positive or negative order amount as described above, but may also be made based on, for example, a buy/sell flag included in the order information. If the target order information is a sell order, the process proceeds to S603, and if it is a buy order, the process proceeds to S604. The processes from S602 onwards are executed for one piece of target order information. The process in FIG. 6 is executed as many times as there are orders.

Next, in S603, the execution possibility determination unit 302 obtains information on buy orders with high unit prices from the order information stored in the order information storage unit 316. Here, multiple buy orders with a higher unit price than the unit price of the sell order, which is the target order information, are obtained. Also, in S604, the execution possibility determination unit 302 obtains information on sell orders with low unit prices from the order information stored in the order information storage unit 316. Here, multiple sell orders with a lower unit price than the unit price of the buy order, which is the target order information, are obtained.

Next, the execution possibility determination unit 302 acquires all tentative schedules created by the calculation unit 303, which include the target order information and the orders acquired in step S603 or S604 (S605).

Then, the execution possibility determination unit 302 determines whether or not tentative schedule information has been acquired from the calculation unit 303 (S606), and if tentative schedule information has not been acquired, stores the target order information in the order information storage unit 316 as a new order and terminates the process (S607). On the other hand, if tentative schedule information has been acquired, the process proceeds to S608.

The execution possibility determination unit 302 executes the process from S608 onwards for all buy and sell order pairs for which the tentative schedule information was obtained in step S606. First, based on the buy order ID and sell order ID included in the tentative schedule information, the equipment information of the nanogrid 10 that sent the buy order and the equipment information of the nanogrid 10 that sent the sell order are obtained from the equipment information storage unit 314 (S609).

Next, the contract feasibility determination unit 302 calculates the tradable amount, which indicates the amount of electricity that each nanogrid can trade, based on the order amount contained in the acquired equipment information and order information (S610).

Equation 1 shows an example of a formula for calculating the tradable amount. For each tentative schedule, the tradable amount M is calculated based on each piece of information such as the departure time, arrival time, and travel time shown in FIG. 15. As shown in FIG. 15(b), the calculation formula differs depending on whether the insertion positions of the orders in the tentative schedule are not consecutive or consecutive. Equation 1 shows the idea of comparing the temporal tradable amount from the nanogrid's equipment information with the order amount included in the order information and calculating the smaller one as the tradable amount. Although an example formula is shown, other methods may be used as long as the amount of electricity tradable in each nanogrid can be calculated. In this way, by calculating the tradable amount based on the created tentative schedule, the amount of electricity for electricity trading that can be handled by the electric vehicle 30 can be calculated based on the travel time and charging and discharging time of the electric vehicle 30. By using this tradable amount to determine whether or not a contract can be made, it is possible to determine whether or not a contract can be made in accordance with the restrictions on energy circulation by the vehicle.

The execution feasibility determination unit 302 also calculates the collectable fee, which is the fee that can be collected based on the buying and selling prices included in the order information of the buy order and sell order included in the tentative schedule information and the tradable volume calculated in S610 (S611).

Equation 2 shows an example of a formula for calculating the collectible fee. For example, the collectible fee is calculated by multiplying the difference between the selling order price and the buying order price by the tradable volume. This collectible fee may be received by, for example, the operator 200 of the energy trading support device 100.

Then, it is determined whether the collectable fee calculated in S611 is sufficient (S612), and if the amount is not sufficient, the process moves to the next buy/sell order pair (S608). On the other hand, if the amount is sufficient, the buy/sell order pair is deemed contractable, associated with the tentative schedule ID and recorded (S613), and the process moves to the next buy/sell order pair (S608). Whether the amount is sufficient can be determined by comparing the distance between the nanogrid location where the sell order was placed and the nanogrid location where the buy order was placed, and the transportation cost, such as electricity cost, which is determined by the performance of the EV used for transportation.

Equation 3 shows an example of a judgment formula for judging whether the amount of the collectable fee is sufficient. For example, it is judged whether the amount of the collectable fee exceeds the standard fee. An example of the standard fee is calculated from the shortest path length from the nanogrid 10 of the sell order to the nanogrid 10 of the buy order as shown in Equation 3 and the travel expenses determined for each corresponding electric vehicle 30. The standard fee is stored in the storage unit 304 so that the contract feasibility judgment unit 302 can use it. Since the amount of the collectable fee is greatly influenced by the schedule before and after the order fulfillment of the electric vehicle 30, it is preferable to use the shortest path length as the value of D, but a method of using the difference between the total path length of the movement of the electric vehicle 30 before the tentative schedule insertion and the total path length of the movement of the electric vehicle 30 after the tentative schedule insertion can also be considered. In addition, the value of the travel expense m can be considered to vary depending on the price of electricity and the vehicle performance of the electric vehicle 30. As an example of a method for determining the travel expense m, the amount of power consumption per distance may be calculated from the past performance values of the electric vehicle 30, and the travel expense may be calculated using the contracted amount of another power transaction immediately before calculating the collectable fee as the electricity price. Alternatively, the amount of power consumption may be calculated using the catalog specifications of the electric vehicle 30, and the electricity price may be calculated from past performance values or the grid electricity price may be used as is. In this way, by calculating the collectable fee and comparing it with the standard fee to determine whether or not an agreement can be made, it is possible to realize power trading within a range in which the operator 200 of the energy trading support device 100 can receive profits.

After executing the process of S608 for all buy and sell order pairs, the execution possibility determination unit 302 executes, among the buy and sell order pairs recorded as executable, the one with the lowest unit price when the target order information is a buy order, and the one with the highest unit price when the target order information is a sell order, and further executes the most recently placed buy order or sell order (S614). Note that, although an example of so-called "zaraba" processing is shown here, it is also possible to employ so-called "itayose" processing and execute the order with the largest number of executed orders, the largest executed amount, or the largest difference between the electricity buy price and the electricity sell price.

Next, the agreement feasibility determination unit 302 notifies the external communication device 321 of each nanogrid 10 that placed the order of the agreed amount of traded electricity (agreement amount), the trading price of the agreed electricity (agreement unit price), and the time of electricity transfer via the external communication unit 305 (S615).

Then, the contract possibility determination unit 302 extracts from the order information storage unit 316 an existing sell order of the nanogrid 10 that sent the sell order that was contracted with the target order information, and determines whether the order volume of the existing sell order is equal to the contract volume (S616). Also, the unit 302 extracts from the order information storage unit 316 an existing buy order of the nanogrid 10 that sent the buy order that was contracted with the target order information, and determines whether the order volume of the existing buy order is equal to the contract volume (S616). If the contract volume is not equal to the order volume of the existing buy order or the order volume of the sell order, the process proceeds to step S618, and if the contract volume is equal to the order volume of the existing buy order or the order volume of the sell order, the process proceeds to step S617.

In step S617, the execution possibility determination unit 302 deletes the existing executed order from the order information storage unit 316. In addition, in S618, the execution possibility determination unit 302 reduces the absolute value of the order quantity of the existing executed order by the execution quantity, and updates the information stored in the order information storage unit 316.

Then, the execution possibility determination unit 302 determines whether the order quantity of the target order information is equal to the execution quantity (S619). If the execution quantity is equal to the order quantity of the target order information, the process ends. On the other hand, if the execution quantity is not equal to the order quantity of the target order information, the absolute value of the order quantity of the target order information is reduced by the execution quantity (S620), and the flow is executed again from the creation of a tentative schedule by the calculation unit 303.

Figure 11(a) is a schematic diagram showing the position of the nanogrid 10 and the driving route of the electric vehicle 30.

The map information storage unit 313 has information represented by a combination of nodes indicating positions and links indicating the passability between each node. Node positions are preferably represented using latitude and longitude, but any method may be used as long as the actual positions can be displayed. Furthermore, traffic volume history for each time period may be included in the link information. When traffic volume history information is included in the map information, the travel time of the electric vehicle 30 can be accurately calculated. It is necessary to create a route for the electric vehicle 30 and calculate the travel time, but this may be obtained from outside the energy trading support device 100 of this embodiment (for example, from another map service).

The driving route of the electric vehicle 30 should be given as the shortest route from the current location to the destination unless there are special traffic reasons. A publicly known method can be used to calculate the shortest route between nodes in a node-link configuration. For example, calculations can be performed sequentially using the A* method each time a destination is given, or the shortest route for all node pairs can be obtained by preprocessing using the Warshall-Floyd method. Using the shortest route calculated in this way, the travel time can be estimated by dividing the length of each link that connects each node that appears in the shortest route by the average travel speed of the traveling electric vehicle 30 and adding them all up.

Figure 11(a) shows an abstract node-link configuration, with circles representing nodes, and nodes where nanogrid 10 is present are shown larger than the others. Lines connecting each circle represent links, and although this has been omitted to avoid cluttering the figure, links include the distance between nodes, etc. In the figure, links included in the driving route of electric vehicle 30 are shown with dark solid lines, and links not included in the driving route are shown with light dashed lines. The travel time of electric vehicle 30 described above may be calculated using information included in the links of this map information. For example, if the link information includes traffic volume history for each time period, a more accurate travel time can be calculated by correcting the travel time between links calculated by the above-mentioned method using the traffic volume history.

The map information storage unit 313 has the node information and link information shown in FIG. 11(b) and FIG. 11(c). FIG. 11(b) is a diagram of a node information table showing an example of node information. It has a node ID 1101 for identifying a node, and longitude 1102 and latitude 1103 indicating the position of the node. The node information is information indicating the position of a point where the nature of the route to be traveled changes when expressing map information. A node is, for example, an intersection or a junction. The node information includes the position of the registered nanogrid. Any point can be registered as a node. Also, the node ID may be registered in association with the nanogrid ID 1108 described above.

Figure 11 (c) is a diagram showing a link information table showing an example of link information. Link information is information on the route connecting each node, and includes at least a link ID 1104 for identifying the link, a source node ID 1105 and a destination node ID 1106 indicating which nodes the link is between, and a length 1107 indicating the distance between the links.

Figure 12 is a diagram verifying the effect of the energy trading support device 100 of this embodiment through a simulation. It is a diagram showing that the power usage efficiency of the nanogrid is improved, with Figure 12(a) showing the result when the energy trading support device 100 of this embodiment is not applied, and Figure 12(b) showing the result when the energy trading support device 100 of this embodiment is applied.

The simulation considers a day from midnight to midnight, and sets the power demand by abstracting and normalizing the measured power demand data, and sets the power supply to the estimated solar power generation amount based on the measured solar radiation amount. Trading is performed by the processing of the energy trading support device 100 described above. In addition, the total power demand for a day is assumed to be the same for all nanogrids, but the hourly power generation amount and the total daily power generation amount differ for each nanogrid due to the regional characteristics of the solar radiation amount. Furthermore, the exchange of power to each nanogrid through the system power source is not taken into consideration, and the simulation is performed under the condition that multiple nanogrids are self-sufficient in power and that there are a sufficiently large number of electric vehicles 30.

In both Figures 12(a) and 12(b), the middle row shows the amount of stored power in each nanogrid, the top row shows the total amount of power generation suppression up to the relevant time, and the bottom row shows the total amount of power shortage up to the relevant time for each nanogrid, with the vertical axis showing the numerical value (kWh). The horizontal axis shows time.

Figure 12(a) shows the state before the energy trading support device 100 of this embodiment is introduced into the trading market. If there is no power supply from the system power source to the nanogrid or no power interchange between multiple nanogrids through the system power source, there are nanogrids where power generation is suppressed due to an excess of power caused by a mismatch between power supply and demand. For example, there are three nanogrids in the upper excess area of Figure 12(a). Furthermore, there are also nanogrids where there is a power shortage due to a mismatch between power supply and demand.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 12(b), when the energy trading support device 100 shown in this embodiment is introduced and power trading is enabled between multiple nanogrids, no power generation suppression occurs, and power shortages are alleviated compared to FIG. 12(a).

In this way, the energy trading support device 100 according to this embodiment is a device that supports energy trading between multiple nanogrids 10, and is configured by a computer having a calculation device that executes predetermined processing and a storage device connected to the calculation device. It has a memory unit 304 that stores location information of the multiple nanogrids 10 and facility information of the multiple nanogrids 10, a reception unit 301 that receives order information for power trading between the multiple nanogrids 10 and outputs the order information to the contract feasibility determination unit 302 and the calculation unit 303, a calculation unit 303 that calculates the travel time of the electric vehicle 30 based on the received order information and the location information of the multiple nanogrids 10 extracted from the memory unit 304, and creates one or more tentative schedules for the electric vehicle 30 based on the calculated travel time, and a contract feasibility determination unit 302 that determines whether or not energy trading between the multiple nanogrids 10 can be contracted based on the tentative schedules created by the calculation unit 303.

The energy trading support method according to the present embodiment is a method in which a computer supports energy trading between multiple nanogrids 10, the computer having a calculation unit that executes a predetermined process and a storage device connected to the calculation unit, the storage device storing information including location information of the multiple nanogrids 10 and facility information of the multiple nanogrids 10, and the method includes a reception step of receiving order information for power trading between the multiple nanogrids 10, a calculation step of calculating a travel time for an electric vehicle 30 based on the received order information and the extracted location information of the multiple nanogrids 10, and creating one or more tentative schedules for the electric vehicle 30 based on the travel time, and a contract feasibility determination step of determining whether or not energy trading between the multiple nanogrids 10 can be contracted based on the created tentative schedules.

This allows for the realization of transactions within the possible range of energy transfer, taking into account the variable travel times of vehicles and the locations where energy is charged and discharged, and promotes energy circulation. It also allows for the adjustment of the balance of power supply and demand between multiple nanogrids, stabilizing power supply and demand across the entire nanogrid system, and promoting the introduction of renewable energy.

In the energy trading support device 100 according to this embodiment, the memory unit 304 further stores an EV schedule including the time of movement or operation of the electric vehicle 30, and the calculation unit 303 calculates the travel time for the electric vehicle 30 to travel to the nanogrid 10 that transmitted the order information based on the position of the nanogrid 10 that transmitted the order information, and creates multiple tentative schedules for the electric vehicle 30 that can insert the travel time into the EV schedule. This makes it possible to create multiple tentative schedules that can actually be handled by the electric vehicle 30, taking into account the travel time of the electric vehicle 30 to the nanogrid that transmitted the order information, and to support energy trading that can be realized based on the schedule of the electric vehicle 30 by determining whether or not energy trading can be concluded based on the tentative schedules.

In the energy trading support device 100 according to this embodiment, the memory unit 304 stores the equipment information of the nanogrid 10, and the calculation unit 303 calculates the charge/discharge time required for charging or discharging the electric vehicle 30 in the nanogrid based on the equipment information of the nanogrid 10 that transmitted the order information, and creates multiple tentative schedules for the electric vehicle 30 that can insert the charge/discharge time into the EV schedule. This makes it possible to create multiple tentative schedules that can actually be handled by the electric vehicle 30, taking into account the charge/discharge time in the nanogrid that transmitted the order information, and by determining whether or not the power trading can be concluded based on the tentative schedules, it is possible to support power trading that can be realized from the schedule of the electric vehicle 30 and the power input/output device used in the nanogrid.

In the energy trading support device 100 according to the present embodiment, the storage unit 304 further stores an EV schedule indicating a schedule regarding the time of movement or operation of the electric vehicle 30 and facility information of the nanogrid 10, and the calculation unit 303 calculates the travel time for the electric vehicle 30 to travel to the nanogrid 10 that transmitted the order information based on the position of the nanogrid 10 that transmitted the order information, calculates the charge/discharge time required for the electric vehicle 30 to be charged or discharged at the nanogrid 10 that transmitted the order information based on the facility information of the nanogrid 10 that transmitted the order information, and creates multiple tentative schedules for the electric vehicle 30 that can insert the calculated travel time and charge/discharge time into the EV schedule. As a result, multiple tentative schedules for the electric vehicle 30 can be created taking into account the travel time required for the electric vehicle 30 to respond to the power trading in the order information and the charge/discharge time at the nanogrid, and by determining whether or not the power trading can be concluded based on the created tentative schedule, it is possible to support feasible power trading by taking into account the time required for the vehicle to respond to the power trading. The balance of power supply and demand between multiple nanogrids can be adjusted by vehicles, which will lead to power stabilization throughout the entire nanogrid system.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but includes various modified examples and equivalent configurations within the spirit of the appended claims. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to having all of the configurations described. Furthermore, part of the configuration of one embodiment may be replaced with the configuration of another embodiment. Furthermore, the configuration of another embodiment may be added to the configuration of one embodiment. Furthermore, part of the configuration of each embodiment may be added, deleted, or replaced with other configurations.

Furthermore, each of the configurations, functions, processing units, processing means, etc. described above may be realized in part or in whole in hardware, for example by designing them as integrated circuits, or may be realized in software by a processor interpreting and executing a program that realizes each function.

Information such as programs, tables, and files that realize each function can be stored in a storage device such as a memory, hard disk, or SSD (Solid State Drive), or in a recording medium such as an IC card, SD card, or DVD.

In addition, the control lines and information lines shown are those considered necessary for explanation, and do not necessarily represent all control lines and information lines necessary for implementation. In reality, it is safe to assume that almost all components are interconnected.

10 Nanogrid 30 Electric vehicle 100 Energy trading support device 101 Processor 102 Memory 103 Auxiliary storage device 104 Communication interface 105 Input interface 106 Keyboard 107 Mouse 108 Output interface 109 Display device 301 Reception unit 302 Agreement possibility determination unit 303 Calculation unit 304 Storage unit 305 External communication unit 311 EV schedule storage unit 312 Authentication information storage unit 313 Map information storage unit 314 Facility information storage unit 315 Position information storage unit 316 Order information storage unit

Claims (8)

An energy trading support device that supports energy trading,
The computer includes an arithmetic unit that executes a predetermined process and a storage device that is connected to the arithmetic unit,
A memory unit that stores the positions of a plurality of nanogrids;
A reception unit that receives order information for power trading in the plurality of nanogrids;
a calculation unit that calculates travel times for the vehicles based on the order information and the locations of the plurality of nanogrids, and generates one or more interim schedules for the vehicles based on the travel times;
and a contract feasibility determination unit that determines whether or not an energy transaction between the plurality of nanogrids can be concluded based on the created tentative schedule. The energy trading support device according to claim 1,
The storage unit stores a vehicle schedule including a time of movement or operation of the vehicle,
The calculation unit is
Calculating a travel time for the vehicle to travel to the nanogrid that transmitted the order information based on a position of the nanogrid that transmitted the order information;
The energy trading support device creates a tentative schedule in which the travel time can be inserted into the vehicle schedule. The energy trading support device according to claim 2,
The storage unit stores equipment information of the nanogrid,
The calculation unit is
Calculating a charging/discharging time required for charging or discharging at the nanogrid based on equipment information of the nanogrid that transmitted the order information;
The energy trading support device creates a tentative schedule in which the charging and discharging time can be inserted into the vehicle schedule. The energy trading support device according to claim 1,
The storage unit stores a vehicle schedule including a time of movement or operation of the vehicle and facility information of the nanogrid;
The calculation unit creates a tentative schedule including a departure time of the vehicle from a specific nanogrid, an arrival time of the vehicle at the specific nanogrid, and facility information to be used in the nanogrid, based on the location and facility information of the nanogrid that transmitted the order information and the vehicle schedule;
The contract possibility determination unit
Calculating a tradable amount based on the departure time, the arrival time, and a charge/discharge time in the specified nanogrid determined based on the facility information included in the tentative schedule;
An energy trading support device characterized in that it determines whether or not the energy trade can be concluded based on the tradable amount. The energy trading support device according to claim 4,
The contract possibility determination unit
Calculating a collectable fee based on the buy order unit price and the sell order unit price associated with the order information included in the tentative schedule and the tradable volume;
An energy trading support device characterized in that it determines whether or not the energy trading can be concluded based on the collectable fee. The energy trading support device according to claim 5,
The contract possibility determination unit
A standard fee is determined based on a travel cost indicating the cost required for the travel of the vehicle and a distance between a nanogrid that transmits a buy order and a nanogrid that transmits a sell order,
An energy trading support device, characterized in that it determines whether or not the energy trading can be concluded by comparing the standard fee with the collectable fee. The energy trading support device according to claim 1,
The energy trading support device is characterized in that, based on the possibility of contract, a contract history in which a contract is determined to be possible is output. 1. A method for supporting energy trading using a computer, comprising:
The computer includes an arithmetic unit that executes a predetermined process, and a storage device that is connected to the arithmetic unit;
The storage device stores a plurality of nanogrid locations and facility information of the nanogrids;
A receiving step of receiving order information for power trading in the plurality of nanogrids;
calculating travel times for the vehicles based on the order information and the locations of the plurality of nanogrids and generating one or more interim schedules for the vehicles based on the travel times;
and a contract feasibility determination step of determining whether or not energy trading between the plurality of nanogrids can be concluded based on the created tentative schedule.

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