Two separate signals
SiteIQ answers two different BESS questions from the same grid-proximity rating. They can point opposite ways on the same site — that is intentional, not a bug.
1. Co-location fit (shared interconnection)
Does adding storage help share the interconnection infrastructure you are already building? Fit comes from the OpenStreetMap nearest-substation rating:
- Favorable — Excellent or Good grid proximity
- Possible — Moderate distance
- Limited — Challenging or Remote (long tie — little shared-infra benefit)
- Unknown — no mapped substation in the search radius
2. Curtailment / export value
Would storage help absorb generation a weak or constrained connection cannot carry, sit a larger DC array behind a smaller sanctioned export limit, or shift output into higher-value hours? This signal moves in the opposite direction:
- High — Challenging or Remote (long/weak tie — curtailment risk is where BESS often earns its keep)
- Moderate — Moderate distance
- Low — Excellent or Good (short strong tie — this driver is smaller; arbitrage may still apply)
- Unknown — no mapped substation
Example: a site ~12 km from the nearest mapped substation scores Limited on co-location fit and High on curtailment/export value — both correct for what they measure.
The illustrative MW / MWh range is a rule-of-thumb fraction of the SiteIQ screened PV capacity band (not LayoutIQ packed DC). Agri-PV projects also get a land-use note: dual-use leases may restrict non-agricultural equipment siting.
What it is not
- Not a battery design or procurement specification
- Not a revenue / arbitrage model
- Not acoustic, fire, or civil design
- Not a change to the PVMath site score — BESS signals are informational only
- Not a single “go/no-go” BESS verdict — fit and curtailment value can disagree on purpose