【正文】 this is the most frequently repeated task. Additionally, the manager should be able to add or remove generators from the system without diffi culty. Furthermore, the manager should be able to process multiple scenarios in one sitting by either manually repeating the aggregation process, or by loading a list of forecasts for the programme to work with. The data input from the system operator es in two phases: the distributed generators’ unit parameter entry, and the forecast parameters entry. The unit parameters are required before the forecast parameters can be used and the forecast parameters are required to execute the programme models. However, while the second input is required whenever the programme models are run, the input of the unit data is required only during the VPP setup, . once, unless the confi guration of the VPP is modifi ed. This generation unit setup is time consuming, governed by the number of generators within the system. Consequently, the VPP generator setup should be able to be saved and loaded to ensure swift progress to the main portion of the programme. The statistical output from the programme takes the form of data sets against output power. Each forecast input set produces two sets of data, the instantaneous power output and the longterm average power output. This is the fi nal terminal for the fl ow of information within the programme, as the programme is not and does not try to be a graphical display or spreadsheet type application. Others have already done very well at creating these types of programmes, so the data should be expressed to the user in such a manner that it can be transferred easily from the programme into a graphical display package. The GUI In accordance with keeping the user traffi c of the programme to a minimum, the basic interface is built incorporating the specifi cations noted above. The input of data, both generation and forecast data, can be acplished from the interface (Fig. 2), as well as the loading and saving of VPP confi gurations mentioned above. Additionally, it is possible to edit the generator parameters entered or loaded through the interface, using the leftmost two of the large boxes on the window. The leftmost box is able to select generators in the VPP, and the box to its right displays the parameters of the selected generator. Changing any of the generator’s parameters in this way is acplished by simply editing the relevant value. Of course, these new values are not automatically saved to fi le, but this allows for minor or major Fig. 2 Main window. modifi cations to the VPP without having to entirely delete a generator in order to reenter it with different parameters. Other than the aforementioned boxes, the fl ow within the programme is from left to right. The leftmost six buttons allow for the input of new generators, deletion of generators, and the saving and loading of generator confi gurations. This group of buttons form the setup of the VPP, and once the VPP has been setup the user need not use them again. The next stages of the process are pleted using the middle four buttons. The middle four buttons allow for the input of the forecast data to plete the primary purpose of the programme. They are split into two and then into two again. They are first split according to whether the user requires to run a single forecast or whether the user wishes to run a series of forecasts. This split is vertical, the leftmost buttons processing only a single forecast. The second split is whether the user wishes to run an optimised or nonoptimised version of the process, which is useful as a demonstrative tool to show the time saved in running the optimised process。 wind generation The growth of environmental awareness in society is putting pressure on the electric power generation business to reduce CO2 emissions, thought to be the chief cause of climate change. This is leading to new methods to generate power. Some of these methods build upon existing green technologies and expand their size, such as new largescale offshore wind farms, while other methods employ newer technologies such as fuel cells. The shift is driven by a bination of factors ranging from increased awareness of climate change due to power generation from fossil fuels through to concerns about longterm security of oil supplies. Aside from energy trading panies, smallscale Distributed Generation (DG) technologies are available for mercial and residential buildings, which can offer similar green credentials for a smaller scale of power generation. Of course, smallscale conventional fossil fuel based generation can also be installed for backup purposes. Environmentally, the installation of green technologies such as photovoltaic (PV), wind and micro bined heat and power (μCHP, or microCHP) is benefi cial in that it reduces the electric power drawn from the grid, thus reducing the carbon dioxide released from conventional electricity generation. If installed in large enough quantities, the annual electrical power produced by these technologies can equal or bee greater than the annual power usage of the building, or site. For a building with this quantity of DG installed it would be logical to suggest that the site could be removed from the grid entirely and bee selfsustaining, if it were not for the intermittency of the technologies involved. PV arrays are dormant at night, wind turbines are a slave to the wind speed, and microCHP is a slave to the site heating requirements. To bee truly offgrid requires the installation of energy storage devices, which is costly, so many sites simply feed power back into the grid when they produce more than they consume, and take power out of the grid when they consume more than they produce. The reliance on fossil fuels (for conventional generation) is, th