What are the requirements for large PV power plants?

Large PV power plants (i.e., greater than 20 MW at the utility interconnection) that provide power into the bulk power system must comply with standards related to reliability and adequacy promulgated by authorities such as NERC and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

What is a PV plant capacity?

Capacity is a physical property of the PV system and installed components. Capacity will only be reduced when a component integral to power production fails (and becomes unavailable). Individual components will also have capacities associated with them. The total of all component capacities will comprise the plant capacity.

How to maximize PV power consumption?

As discussed above, the most common approach is to take advantage of the battery to maximize usage of the power that is being generated by the PV to minimize curtailment during the day.

How is operations quality determined in PV plant operations?

In the field of PV plant operations, operations quality is determined by (1) the ratio of the amount of energy harvested to the potential amount of energy available for a particular plant and (2) plant equipment availability over time.

Which inverter is required for a combined PV and storage system?

Combined PV and storage system topologies will generally require a bi-directional inverter, either as the primary inverter solution (DC-coupled) or in addition to the unidirectional PV inverters (AC-coupled).

Why is energy availability important in assessing PV systems?

Both energy and availability are necessary metrics for assessing PV systems. If the stakeholders involved in a contract are most interested in energy production, and if the contract holds parties responsible for energy production, then it is crucial that energy losses associated with unavailability and system performance are accounted for.