The efficient usage of energy is becoming increasingly important in order to comply with measures to prevent global warming, and as a result of the tightness of power supply and demand and the rise in energy prices. In the industrial field, consumer field, store distribution field and other various fields, energy management systems (EMSs) that promote the efficient use of energy, especially energy conservation, are being constructed.
Through developing products based upon distinctive control technology and supplying those products to the market, Fuji Electric contributes to the improvement of public and industrial infrastructure. This special issue introduces Fuji Electric’s efforts involving EMSs that leverage control technology and the latest technologies that support EMSs.

In next-generation energy systems, customers will be provided with a diverse choice of energy menus. So that customers may choose from these menus wisely, it is important for energy management systems (EMS) to come into widespread use. Fuji Electric provides the “EnergyGATE Series” that packages a CEMS, for implementing regional energy management in smart communities, and a FEMS and REMS that promote energy visualization and energy conservation for customers in industry, retail and other various fields. For small-scale customers, Fuji Electric also provides a cloud-based EMS service that allows for a smaller initial investment.

The “Kitakyushu Smart Community Creation Project” being conducted in the Yahatahigashida region of Fukuoka, Kitakyushu, celebrated its fourth year since inception. This project utilizes a regional energy management system based on a “cluster energy management system” and aims to reduce CO2 emissions by at least 50% compared to that of typical urban areas. As part of this project, the fi rst public demonstration of dynamic pricing in Japan was conducted in 2012. The price of electric power during peak hours was varied in fi ve stages, from 15 to 150 yen/kWh, and an average reduction in demand of 9 to 13% was confi rmed.

A cogeneration plant provides steam and electric power required for paper factories. Fuji Electric has developed and delivered an energy optimization system for the cogeneration plant of a paper factory. The system is capable of monitoring the state of various facilities, including power/steam loads and the amount of steam produced by an exhaust-heat recovery boiler, which fl uctuate greatly in the factory. The system can thus optimize the operation in real time according to the supply-demand balance of power and steam. Since the system automatically optimizes loads so that contracted electricity limits are never exceeded at times of excessive steam loads, while also ensuring that there is no inverse power fl ow during times of steam shortages, the cost of installing the system can be confi rmed to be recovered in one year.

With the installation of an“ energy center” and the central management of various types of large quantities of energy at a steelworks, a comprehensive approach to energy savings, increased operational effi ciency of labor saving and motive power equipment, and environmental management is being promoted. Focusing on supply-demand forecasting and optimization, which is a basic function of an energy center, Fuji Electric has developed a “Steel EMS Package” for improving energy management and operational effi ciency, which are complexly intertwined within a steelworks. This package forecasts the energy fl uctuation for several hours in advance or makes daily or monthly forecasts, and optimally operates the energy production equipment so as to contribute to energy saving throughout the steelworks.

In large-scale commercial facilities that consume vast amounts of energy, power conservation, energy savings, and the effi cient utilization of energy are challenges requiring urgent attention, and the introduction of an EMS is being promoted as a solution.
Fuji Electric has developed a large-scale commercial facility EMS to generate optimal supply and demand management plans based upon demand forecasts and power generation forecasts, and to realize the optimal application of energy. With the introduction of this system, operation can be guided precisely toward power conserving and energy saving behaviors, energy management can be implemented by area, by application, and by basic unit or the like, and a reduction in energy consumption and CO2 emissions can be expected.

In the energy environment surrounding customers of electrical power in Japan, major changes are underway in regards to the supplydemand balance and the cost of energy usage, and energy cost-reducing measures such as strengthening energy management and introducing energy-saving equipment are urgently needed.
With a proven track record for successfully installing EMSs at major customers of electrical power, Fuji Electric has aggregated energysaving analysis know-how accumulated in energy management operational support, and has begun supplying an energy management support service based on a shared-use EMS that utilizes cloud technology. Because a company will not have to install, maintain or manage the system, the introduction of EMSs to small and medium sized power customers is expected to accelerate.

According to energy consumption trends by sector in Japan, energy consumption in the consumer product sector, which includes retail business, is increasing at a high rate. Moreover, 85% of the energy consumed by retail business activities is in the form of electric power, and power savings is increasingly being requested. Fuji Electric has developed the“ ECOMAX Controller” that collectively manages and controls refrigeration, freezer, air conditioning and lighting equipment inside a store to realize comprehensive energy savings. A confi guration that is compatible with various interfaces is used in order to enable collective control of the equipment, to reduce installation costs, and to increase the effi ciency of the management and operation of the equipment. Additionally, infrastructure management functions for electricity, water and gas are incorporated so that a store-use EMS may be confi gured easily with a single controller.

According to energy consumption trends by sector in Japan, energy consumption in the consumer product sector, which includes retail business, is increasing at a high rate. Moreover, 85% of the energy consumed by retail business activities is in the form of electric power, and power savings is increasingly being requested. Fuji Electric has developed the“ ECOMAX Controller” that collectively manages and controls refrigeration, freezer, air conditioning and lighting equipment inside a store to realize comprehensive energy savings. A confi guration that is compatible with various interfaces is used in order to enable collective control of the equipment, to reduce installation costs, and to increase the effi ciency of the management and operation of the equipment. Additionally, infrastructure management functions for electricity, water and gas are incorporated so that a store-use EMS may be confi gured easily with a single controller.

To promote further energy savings, the demand for electrical, thermal and other types of energy and the amount of energy supplied
by self-generation facilities must be integrally managed and planned. Fuji Electric has developed a framework for optimal planning systems that runs on the integrated EMS platform. This framework has a uniform energy network model that automatically generates a plant model according to the arrangement and connection of equipment on a display screen, and an optimal planning function that develops operational plans. As a result, the confi guration and properties of the equipment can be changed and maintenance can be performed without the need for a professional engineer, and operational planning becomes easier.

The output of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power fl uctuate frequently. Therefore, it is concerned that maintaining the supply-demand balance in a rural area or an isolated island is diffi cult. To solve this problem, Fuji Electric has developed a hierarchical supply and demand control system with diff erent control cycles for supply and demand planning, economic load dispatching control and load frequency control. The above functions of the developed system have been verifi ed by digital simulations with promising results.

With the aim of realizing a low-carbon society, photovoltaic power generation is being promoted worldwide. The amount of photovoltaic power generation will fl uctuate dramatically according to the weather conditions, and may adversely aff ect the power system if introduced in large quantities. Therefore, it is necessary to forecast the amount of power generation and to control the supply and demand. In order to achieve supply and demand control that is stable, Fuji Electric has developed technology for forecasting the amount of power generation. By predicting the amount of insolation from numerical weather forecast data, and converting that prediction into an amount of power generation based on the properties of photovoltaic modules, the amount of power generation can be forecasted for up to several days in the future in any region of the world.