Configuring solar rates and an expected profile

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In IBM® Envizi ESG Suite, for solar generation, you can load solar rates and an expected profile by using a targets module. Solar rates include a feed-in tariff, grid electricity rate, and the solar expected value rate, all measured in $/kWh. The expected profile is recorded in kWh of solar generation.

Typically, 25 years of data is loaded for a solar expected profile, with an annual degradation rate between 0.3% to 1.0%. It is good practice to also load an equivalent amount of rate data, which can then be updated directly in the platform when rates change over time.

Creating an entry for solar rates or an expected profile

You can set only one solar rate or expected profile per site, and three separate rates including the Solar Expected Value Rate, which is also known as the business case rate, the Solar Export Rate, which is also known as the feed-in tariff, and the Solar Grid Electricity Rate. Use the following steps to create an entry for a solar rate or an expected profile:
  1. In the main menu, click Manage, and then, in the Targets and Rates section, click Solar Rates and Expected Profile.
  2. Create an entry if one doesn't already exist. Only one solar rate or expected profile can exist for each target type.
Table 1. Solar target types
Target type Required? Unit Purpose
Solar Expected Profile Required kWh This profile can define the solar installers performance guarantee, or if a guarantee is not available, it can store the expected profile based modeling. For example, see the Solar Resource Data calculator.
Solar Expected Value Rate Optional cost/kWh Rates used to support the business case. This should be the value of solar energy consumed onsite as well as solar energy exported to the grid.
Solar Export Rate Optional cost/kWh Rate for payments to the solar generator for power sold back to the grid.
Solar Grid Electricity Rate Optional cost/kWh Average rate paid for power consumed from the grid. This rate applies to solar energy consumed onsite. This rate should take into consideration an expected solar export amount, if any, as well as the effects of other network charges.
Note: For required target types where rate information has not been provided in monthly values, calculations in the solar dashboards use values that are taken from the location setting. For more information, see the parent topic.

Generating a template for loading data

After you have created the solar rate or expected profile, generate a template for loading solar data:
  1. Right-click the solar rate or expected profile record, and click Generate Blank Solar Template. The Re-Select report generation dialog is displayed.
  2. In the Re-Select dialog, complete the fields:
    • Use the For option to filter the lists of locations or accounts by group.
    • The Select option contains all the locations that you have access to.
    • For Select Data Type(s), choose the correct data type depending on the type of rate or expected profile that you are loading and the option that you selected from the Select Target list:
      • If Select Target is Solar Expected Profile (kWh), then select Solar Generated.
      • If Select Target is Solar Expected Value Rate (cost/kWh), then select Solar Generated.
      • If Select Target is Solar Export Rate (cost/kWh), then select Solar Exported.
      • If Select Target is Solar Grid Electricity Rate (cost/kWh), then select Solar Consumed.
    • For Filter By #1, choose Location because the expected profile and rate info applies to the location.
    • For Filter By #2, choose Monthly because the expected profile and rate info is captured at a monthly level.
    • For Starting with, choose the first day of the month for your starting period.
    • For Ending with, choose the last day of the month for your ending period.
  3. Submit the form.
  4. After the report template has been generated, save the report template to your desktop in Excel xlsx file format with the name Blank_Solar_Target_any text here.xlsx. Envizi ESG Suite accepts only xlsx files with this name format.

Sending the data back to Envizi ESG Suite

Enter data into the report template and send it back to Envizi:
  1. Open the report in Excel.
  2. Enter all the necessary rate information into the Target Values column. Typically, a solar installation has an expected lifetime of 25 years.
  3. Save the report in xlsx format, and email it to your respective server. To identify the correct server, check your URL when you are logged into Envizi ESG Suite and refer to the following table:
    Table 2. Envizi ESG Suite server addresses and corresponding email address
    Server address Email address
    https://us001.envizi.com/ us001p03h@envizi.com
    https://us002.envizi.com/ us002p03h@envizi.com
    https://us003.envizi.com/ us003p03h@envizi.com
    https://au001.envizi.com/ au001p03h@envizi.com
    https://au002.envizi.com/ au002p03h@envizi.com
    https://au003.envizi.com/ au003p03h@envizi.com
    https://au004.envizi.com/ au004p03h@envizi.com
    https://au005.envizi.com/ au005p03h@envizi.com
  4. After the file has been processed, you can navigate back to the Solar Rates and Expected Profile page to see your data. You can also edit your data in the platform directly by right-clicking on the expected profile or rate record and selecting Target Data.
Note: If there was a problem loading your file, in the main menu click Manage > Files Processed - Accounts & Setup and check the status.

Updating solar rates or expected profiles

After an expected profile or solar rates have been loaded, use the setup target data template to update the values in Excel and then load them back into Envizi. Search for the Setup Target Data report and run the report for the target type that you want to update.

For more information about updating target data, see the related link.