PV + battery

Dear SAM Support Team,I am currently working on a utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) and battery storage system using the IPP Single Owner model in SAM. I would like your assistance with an issue related to battery charging behavior.The objective is for the battery to start charging only when the PV system generates more than 150 MW of power. That is, once the PV output exceeds 150 MW (which is needed to meet grid demand), any surplus should charge the battery. However, in my current simulation, the battery starts charging even when the PV system produces less than 150 MW. As a result, power is simultaneously sent to both the grid and the battery, even when demand is not fully met.I want to ensure that:

1. The battery only charges when PV output exceeds 150 MW (i.e., the surplus energy is stored).

Could you please guide me on how to configure this correctly in SAM?Best regards,
Khalifah AlSunaikh     

Hi Khalifah,

SAM's battery model does not have a dispatch option that only charges the battery when the PV output is above some threshold.

You could approximate this behavior with the manual dispatch by defining a period that covers the times when you expect the PV output to be above the threshold. You could run a simulation for the system with no battery (temporarily set the desired bank power and desired bank capacity to zero on the Battery Cell and System page) and show the "System power generated" variable on the Heat Map tab of the results page to determine when the PV output exceeds the threshold.

Best regards,
Paul.