Solar Lattice

DetectionMethod

Constrained interval classification

ID
method:constrained-interval-classification
IRI
https://solarlattice.org/kb/method/constrained-interval-classification
Status
active

Constrained interval classification is a data analysis step. It labels each period when plant output was held below what the plant could have produced, and gives each period a cause. Each constrained interval is then assigned to one cause: grid dispatch, export limit, economic curtailment, plant controller behavior, battery charging limit, outage or telemetry error. At storage sites, also record whether the curtailed PV energy was charged, clipped or abandoned. Grid curtailment typically shows as a flat or controlled output level below the power the irradiance supports. Inverter and tracker availability can still look normal, so curtailment is easy to mistake for underperformance unless setpoints and dispatch signals are checked. In tracker plants on rolling ground, backtracking intervals are separated from curtailment, clipping, outages and inverter constraints. This lets any remaining loss be checked against grade breaks or motor block boundaries, which points to terrain undulation losses rather than equipment failure. If a plant is often constrained and the intervals are not classified, teams may chase equipment problems that do not exist and miss real gains in dispatch, controls or storage use. Curtailment-aware KPIs help avoid this.

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