PLANT CONTROL SYSTEM AND THERMAL POWER PLANT CONTROL SYSTEM

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make available robust control against changes in plant operating conditions by providing a control system with a function to autonomously learn a control logic that realizes a reduction in environmental load emissions from and improvement of operating efficiency of the plant, with predictable variations in the operating state of the plant also taken into account.SOLUTION: A plant control system includes either a combination of an operational information database and an operational characteristics calculating unit or a combination of an equipment information database and an equipment characteristics calculating unit, further provided with a cost estimating unit that estimates the operating cost of the plant by using characteristics values calculated by the operational characteristics calculating unit or the equipment characteristics calculating unit and an operating method learning unit that autonomously learns a method of so generating control signals as to optimize the estimated operating cost outputted by the cost estimating unit. The operating method learning unit is so configured as to use the estimated operating cost outputted by the cost estimating unit as a hint in learning the operating method.