Uploading a custom solar profile

A co-located or standalone solar asset can be modelled using your own generation data instead of Modo Energy’s modelled profile. To do this, you upload a custom solar profile - a spreadsheet of how much your solar array generates over a year.

Once uploaded, the profile is used in place of the modelled generation. See Standalone Solar and Solar Co-located for how it then feeds into clipping, cannibalisation and revenue calculations.

This page explains what the file needs to look like.

What does the file look like?

It is a CSV (comma-separated values) file with two columns - a time, and the power generated at that time:

The column headers must be written exactly as Timestamp (UTC) and Power (MW).

What goes in each column?

• Timestamp (UTC): The date and time of each reading, in dd/mm/yyyy HH:MM format (for example 01/01/2024 13:30), kept consistent all the way down. Enter the times in the local time of your site - no conversion is needed despite the UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) label on the header.
• Power (MW): The actual power your solar array produces at that moment, in megawatts (MW). This is the real output of your system, as it would be measured at the grid connection, so any inverter, wiring and other losses are already included.

The Power column is not the following:

• Not the rated size: It is not the peak or rated size of your array (its MWp, megawatts-peak). That is entered separately when the asset is set up.
• Not a fraction: It is not a percentage or a fraction of capacity. A 50 MW array running at half output is 25, not 0.5 or 50%.

What data does the file need to cover?

• One full year, starting at 00:00 on 1 January.
• Consistent spacing, with readings every 15, 30, or 60 minutes - pick one and keep it the same throughout.
• No gaps and no repeats: every interval from the start to the end of the year should appear once, in order.

In a leap year, 29 February can either be included or left out - both work.

Example

The start of a valid hourly file looks like this:

Timestamp (UTC),Power (MW)
01/01/2024 00:00,0
01/01/2024 06:00,0
01/01/2024 09:00,9.9
01/01/2024 10:00,19.2
01/01/2024 12:00,27.0
01/01/2024 15:00,6.0
01/01/2024 18:00,0
...continues for the rest of the year...

Generation sits at 0 overnight, climbs through the morning, peaks around midday, and drops back to 0 in the evening - as expected from solar.

What if the site is modelled in PVsyst?

If the site is modelled in PVsyst (a photovoltaic system simulation tool), the PVsyst output file can be uploaded directly - there is no need to reformat it into the two-column layout above. The generation is read from it automatically.

Quick checklist

• A CSV file.
• Two columns named exactly Timestamp (UTC) and Power (MW).
• Power is your array’s actual output in MW - not its peak size, not a percentage.
• Times in one consistent format, spaced every 15, 30, or 60 minutes.
• Covers a full year starting 00:00 on 1 January, with no gaps or repeats.