The US court ruled that the PV output power was determined by the AC side of the inverter
According to foreign media reports, the U.S. District of Columbia Circuit Appeal Law recently ruled that a 80MW (AC)/160MW (DC) photovoltaic power station and a supporting 50MW battery energy storage system installed by the photovoltaic developer Broadview Solar Co., Ltd. meet the legal requirements. This provision comes from the requirements of the Public Utilities Regulatory Policy Act (PURPA) approved by the United States Government in 1978 for "qualified facilities" of 80MW or less.
AC specification of photovoltaic system is an important technical consideration when determining the requirements of "qualified facilities" under the Public Utilities Regulatory Policy Act (PURPA). The case was brought by the American Photovoltaic Industry Association (SEIA).
The focus of the case is an optical storage project operated by Broadview Solar in Montana. The company signed a contract with the state to develop 80MW (AC) "qualified facilities" according to the guidelines of the Public Utilities Regulatory Policy Act (PURPA). Broadview Solar installed an 80MW (AC)/160MW (DC) photovoltaic power station and a 50MW/200MWh battery energy storage system. Broadview Solar said that the photovoltaic power station is equipped with 20 inverters, each with a rated power of 4MW (AC).
In its preliminary ruling in September 2020, the Montana Public Utilities Commission pointed out that photovoltaic power generation facilities should be rated based on their direct current (DC) rating, which is the same as that of photovoltaic modules. Broadview Solar argued in court that the output voltage of its peak grid was determined by the inverter, which was the main factor to be considered. The Montana Public Utilities Commission held that this was inconsistent with the previous standards, and Broadview Solar filed an appeal against it.
The Montana Supreme Court has ruled that the Montana Public Utilities Commission has obvious prejudice against photovoltaic power generation in the past. In March 2021, the Commission reversed its previous ruling and pointed out that the peak grid output of the facility was required by the Public Utilities Regulatory Policy Act (PURPA) legislation.
