Wind is modelled in the dispatch model in the same way as solar. It can be run standalone, co-located with a solar site, or as a tri-located site alongside solar and a battery.
Wind generation is always taken from a custom profile that is uploaded for the site, and it is dispatched in always export mode: all generation is exported to the grid as it is produced. Because wind output is taken directly from the uploaded profile, the model does not reshuffle or reorder it, so the treatment is simpler than for solar.
Wind Representation
Wind assets are represented with a small set of parameters:
- Nameplate Capacity (MW): The rated power of the wind site.
- Custom Generation Profile: A user-uploaded, site-specific generation time series. This is required for every wind site.
- Grid Export Limit (MW): The maximum power the site can export. Generation above this limit is curtailed.
Generation Modelling
Wind sites do not use a modelled generation profile. Instead, each site requires a custom wind profile - a full year of the site’s actual generation. See Custom Generation Profile for the required file format.
Why a custom profile is required: Wind output is far more site-specific than solar. It depends on turbine sizing, turbine spacing, site and land layout, and local geography, all of which are difficult to model accurately from a central set of assumptions. The site owner understands these factors better than a general model can, so the model relies on an accurate profile provided for the site rather than generating one.
The profile is used directly. Unlike solar, the model does not rank and reorder days to align with a reference weather pattern.
Matching the Weather Year
Because the profile is used as-is, wind generation and power prices should be based on the same weather conditions. Otherwise capture rates and revenues can be over- or under-stated.
Each forecast is built on a stated weather year (or reference year). The uploaded wind profile should be matched to that year for the relevant market:
| Market | Weather year documentation |
|---|---|
| ERCOT | Generation |
| WECC | Generation |
| SPP | Generation |
| Eastern Interconnection | Generation |
| UK & Europe | Renewables |
| The NEM | Reference Years |
Co-located and Tri-located Sites
Wind can be combined with other assets at the same grid connection:
- Wind co-located with solar: Both assets export into the shared grid connection.
- Wind tri-located with solar and a battery: Wind and solar export into the connection, and the battery is optimised alongside them.
Wind is co-located in the same way as solar, and can be AC- or DC-coupled with the battery. On an AC-coupled site, wind generation above the inverter power is lost; on a DC-coupled site, that excess can charge the battery instead. See Co-location for the full coupling logic, which applies identically to wind.
Because wind runs in always export mode, it is exported as it is produced rather than being time-shifted through the battery. The battery is optimised around the wind and solar generation, with the combined export of wind, solar, and battery kept within the grid export limit.
As with co-located solar and storage, the forecast reports combined revenues for the whole site rather than splitting them between the wind, solar, and battery assets.
Model Outputs
The wind model provides:
- Revenue Projections: Wholesale revenue from exported generation.
- Generation Metrics: Total generation (MWh) and load factor (%).
- Market Value Metrics: Capture price, capture rate, and profile delta, showing how wind generation correlates with market prices.