Is LADWP performance based incentive being approximated?

When I lookup incentives in Los Angeles, CA, I get an option to choose an LADWP performance based incentive (PBI) at a fixed value of $0.12/kWh.
However, when I look up the details of the incentive from DSIRE, it is more complicated than that, as the incentive varies with time of use ( www.dsireusa.org/solar/incentives/incentive.cfm?Incentive_Code=CA258F&re=1&ee=1 ).


Is SAM averaging the time of use values, or is it a different incentive, or something else? If it is averaging the incentive to a single fixed number, does anyone know how exactly it is doing so?

Hello,

The value that SAM is downloading from the DSIRE database does seem inconsistent with the description of the LADWP incentive. SAM does not manipulate the data from the database, it simply downloads values as they are stored in the database. I will have our developers look into this particular issue to see what the problem might be.

That said, rather than relying on the download feature, I would specify the incentive by hand using the SAM inputs to be sure you model the incentive as you intend to. Depending on the project you want to model, you may want to model the feed-in tariff in SAM as a utility rate instead of a performance-based incentive (PBI). You can specify time-dependent rates on the Utility Rates page, but it is not possible to specify a time-dependent PBI (except for one whose value varies from year to year).

Best regards,
Paul.

Thank you, Paul. Please do reply back if your developers find anything.