Interconnection constraint

An interconnection constraint is a grid-side limit that can hold a PV plant's export below the power it could actually produce, which causes grid curtailment yield losses. It sits alongside other sources of curtailment, such as grid operator dispatch, plant controller commands, responses to negative pricing and site export caps. The equipment is not damaged. The available solar resource just goes unused, so the plant delivers less energy. In the data, output runs flat or at a controlled level below what the irradiance would support. Inverter and tracker availability can still look normal, so the loss is easy to mistake for underperformance. A low performance ratio during constrained hours may come from grid instructions rather than from module, inverter or tracker health. Review setpoints, inverter active power limits, dispatch signals and curtailment flags before looking for equipment faults. On plants with storage, some curtailed energy may be recovered by charging the battery. This works only if the battery has spare capacity and power headroom, the controls allow it, and the operating objective values the charge. To reduce the impact, track curtailment separately from equipment loss, estimate available power more accurately, tune battery charging where it applies, and use performance metrics built for frequently constrained plants.