Free tool · Redispatch 2.0

    Spitzabrechnung light Reference data for the curtailed energy of your PV plant – free, as MSCONS

    The simplified peak settlement (vereinfachte Spitzabrechnung) needs the irradiance in the module plane of your plant for every quarter-hour. We derive it from satellite data of the German Meteorological Service (DWD) and send it to you as MSCONS and CSV – for every full month from August 2026.

    Calculate reference dataHow we calculate
    Data source
    MTG satellite, 10-minute values
    Result
    Module-plane irradiance per ¼ h
    Format
    MSCONS (13021) + CSV
    Price
    free

    Calculate reference data for your plant

    Enter location and orientation of your plant and choose a month. You see a preview right away; we send you the quarter-hourly values once you have confirmed your email address.

    Location and period

    Decimal degrees, e.g. 48.3808 and 10.9057. In Google Maps, right-click on the plant to see its coordinates.

    Full calendar months from August 2026, each as soon as the month is complete.

    Subsystems

    One subsystem per orientation. The tool covers fixed-mount plants; for trackers, please get in touch.

    Subsystem 1

    0 = north, 90 = east, 180 = south, 270 = west

    1. Choose location and billing month
    2. Enter subsystems with power, orientation and tilt
    3. Check the preview
    4. Confirm your business email address – MSCONS and CSV arrive by email

    What is the Spitzabrechnung light?

    Under Redispatch 2.0, German network operators have also been curtailing renewable plants of 100 kW and more since 1 October 2021 to relieve grid congestion. The energy not generated as a result is called curtailed energy (Ausfallarbeit) and is compensated both in the balancing group and financially. How it is determined for wind and PV plants is set out in the Federal Network Agency's ruling BK6-20-059, Annex 1.

    For PV plants there are three settlement methods. The plant operator chooses one per plant by 30 November for the following calendar year; new plants can be assigned at the start of a month. Plants in the planned-value model must use the peak or simplified peak settlement.

    Flat rate (Pauschal)

    The output of the last quarter-hour before the curtailment is continued. No data effort – but with changing cloud cover often far from the actual yield.

    Peak (Spitz)

    Curtailed energy is calculated from weather data measured at the plant itself, for example with an irradiance sensor.

    Simplified peak (Spitz light)

    Like peak settlement, but with suitable irradiance values from a weather data provider instead of an own measurement. This tool delivers exactly these values.

    How curtailed energy is calculated

    For each curtailed quarter-hour i, the network operator scales the output of a comparison period by the ratio of irradiance and subtracts the permitted output (Annex 1, section 3.2.3.1):

    W_A,i = max(0; P_VZ,ist / G_VZ · G_i − P_lim,i) · ¼ h

    • P_VZ,ist – measured output in the comparison period: the last calendar day before the measure without redispatch; only quarter-hours with at least 10 % of nominal power count
    • G_VZ, G_i – irradiance in the comparison period and in quarter-hour i, in the module plane
    • P_lim,i – output limit during the measure; the result is capped at nominal power

    Requirements, deadlines and format

    • No suitable weather data is measured at the plant.
    • Plant operator and connecting network operator agree on suitable weather or reference data. Annex 1 names satellite data explicitly: converting satellite images into global irradiance with the Heliosat-2 method is suitable in any case; the horizontal irradiance has to be converted into the module plane.
    • The plant operator delivers the weather data without delay, by the 4th working day of the following month at the latest. Otherwise the network operator forms substitute values. Annex 2 additionally provides for a daily transmission by 8 a.m. for the previous day.
    • The data is sent as EDIFACT MSCONS, use case “Übermittlung von meteorologischen Daten” (Prüfidentifikator 13021): one value in W/m² per quarter-hour of German legal time, identified by the ID of the technical resource.

    This tool delivers the data of a completed month – i.e. for the delivery by the 4th working day of the following month. It does not cover the daily transmission.

    Not legal advice. The rulings of the Federal Network Agency and the agreement with your network operator are authoritative.

    How the reference data is made

    All the data we use is freely available. What matters is combining it correctly – and that is what we disclose here.

    1. Irradiance from the satellite

      The basis is the global irradiance that the German Meteorological Service (DWD) derives from satellite images with methods of the EUMETSAT Satellite Application Facility on Climate Monitoring (CM SAF) and publishes as open data (SPECMAGIC_now, version 3.0). It comes from the newest satellite generation, Meteosat Third Generation (MTG): every 10 minutes, on a 0.015° grid (about 1–2 km). If individual satellite images are missing, we fill in values from the previous generation MSG and mark them in the CSV.

    2. Temperature from the nearest weather station

      Air temperature comes from the nearest official weather station within 40 km, in Germany usually a DWD station (retrieved via Meteostat). It only affects the reference simulation, not the irradiance values. Without a station, we use 15 °C.

    3. Conversion into the module plane

      For every time step we calculate the sun's position, split global irradiance into direct and diffuse parts following Erbs, and transpose it with the Hay–Davies model (ground albedo 0.25) to the orientation and tilt of your subsystems. Several orientations are weighted by module power. Finally we average over each quarter-hour of German legal time.

    4. Reference simulation after Quaschning

      We also simulate the output of your plant, broadly following the model proposed by Volker Quaschning: module temperature rises with irradiance (factor per mounting type), above 25 °C output drops by 0.43 % per kelvin, and inverter losses and clipping at inverter power are included. This lets you check the irradiance values against your measurements.

    Sources and references

    1. Pfeifroth, U., Trentmann, J., Brinckmann, S., Hollmann, R. (2026): An overview of surface solar radiation data products at the German meteorological service. Journal of the European Meteorological Society 4, 100031. doi.org/10.1016/j.jemets.2025.100031
    2. Deutscher Wetterdienst, Open Data: Globalstrahlung aus Satellitendaten (SIS, SPECMAGIC_now). opendata.dwd.de/weather/satellite/radiation/sis/
    3. Quaschning, V. (2025): Regenerative Energiesysteme. Technologie – Berechnung – Klimaschutz. 13. Auflage, Carl Hanser Verlag, München. ISBN 978-3-446-48422-1. www.volker-quaschning.de/publis/regen/index.php
    4. Erbs, D. G., Klein, S. A., Duffie, J. A. (1982): Estimation of the diffuse radiation fraction for hourly, daily and monthly-average global radiation. Solar Energy 28 (4), 293–302. doi.org/10.1016/0038-092X(82)90302-4
    5. Hay, J. E., Davies, J. A. (1980): Calculation of the solar radiation incident on an inclined surface. Proceedings of the First Canadian Solar Radiation Data Workshop, 59–72.
    6. Bundesnetzagentur (2020): Festlegung BK6-20-059, Anlage 1 – Bilanzierungsmodelle und Bestimmung der Ausfallarbeit. www.bundesnetzagentur.de/DE/Beschlusskammern/1_GZ/BK6-GZ/2020/BK6-20-059/BK6-20-059_Anlage1_vom_06_11_2020.pdf
    7. Bundesnetzagentur (2020): Festlegung BK6-20-059, Anlage 2 – Kommunikationsprozesse Redispatch. www.bundesnetzagentur.de/DE/Beschlusskammern/1_GZ/BK6-GZ/2020/BK6-20-059/BK6-20-059_Anlage2_vom_6_11_2020_ba.pdf
    8. EDI@Energy (2025): MSCONS Anwendungshandbuch, Version 3.1g – Abschnitt 8.6 „Meteorologische Daten im Rahmen MaBiS / Redispatch 2.0“. www.bundesnetzagentur.de/DE/Beschlusskammern/BK06/BK6_83_Zug_Mess/835_mitteilungen_datenformate/Mitteilung_54/Anlagen/MSCONS_AHB_3_1g_20251001.pdf

    What you receive by email

    MSCONS module plane

    Irradiance in the module plane in W/m² per quarter-hour, Prüfidentifikator 13021 – the quantity Annex 1 specifies for the simplified peak settlement.

    MSCONS horizontal

    Global horizontal irradiance, in case your network operator prefers to do the conversion itself.

    CSV with all values

    Timestamps in UTC and German legal time, module-plane and horizontal irradiance, air temperature, simulated reference power and energy, and the data source per quarter-hour.

    Frequently asked questions about the Spitzabrechnung light

    What is the Spitzabrechnung light?

    The simplified peak settlement (vereinfachte Spitzabrechnung, “Spitz light”) is one of three methods used under Redispatch 2.0 to determine the curtailed energy of wind and PV plants (Federal Network Agency ruling BK6-20-059, Annex 1). Instead of weather data measured at the plant, suitable irradiance values from a weather data provider are used.

    Which data do I need for the simplified peak settlement of a PV plant?

    One irradiance value per quarter-hour in the module plane of the plant, in W/m², for the whole month. It is sent to the connecting network operator as MSCONS with Prüfidentifikator 13021, by the 4th working day of the following month at the latest.

    Is the tool really free?

    Yes. You only provide your business email address and agree that we may contact you about our products. You can withdraw this consent at any time.

    Will my network operator accept satellite data?

    Annex 1 of the ruling explicitly names satellite data as a suitable source if it is converted into the module plane. For the simplified peak settlement you still have to agree on the data source with your connecting network operator – best clarify this upfront, feel free to refer to this page.

    Which months are available?

    Every full calendar month from August 2026, as soon as it is complete. From then on, irradiance data of the new MTG satellite generation is available in 10-minute resolution.

    How do I handle subsystems with different orientations?

    Create one subsystem per orientation. The module-plane irradiance is weighted by module power so that it matches the yield of the whole plant.

    I don't have a TR-ID or market partner ID at hand – does it still work?

    Yes. The MSCONS then contains placeholders that you replace with the TR-ID and the market partner IDs before sending. The CSV can be used right away.

    How accurate is the reference data?

    Satellite irradiance is an average over a pixel of about 1–2 km and captures cloud cover well; local effects such as shading, snow or soiling at the plant are not included. The reference simulation also depends on your plant data. Compare the data with your measurements.

    What happens to my inputs?

    Your inputs are not stored in a database but carried in the signed confirmation link. After you confirm, our team receives a notification with your email address, your consent and the plant data so that we can contact you.

    Why is the tool free?

    We believe that fast and transparent settlement helps everyone involved – plant operators, direct marketers and network operators – to clear curtailed energy quickly.

    The data it takes is freely available anyway. It just has to be combined correctly: satellite irradiance, station temperature, sun position and plant geometry. That is our daily craft, and we are happy to show how we do it.

    If you need accurate solar power forecasts for trading or grid operation beyond settlement, talk to us. Solar power forecast

    More than reference data: accurate solar power forecasts

    We also combine satellite data, weather models and measurements into solar power forecasts – from 5 minutes to 10 days, for single plants and whole portfolios.

    See the solar power forecastGet in touch