FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is curtailment?
Curtailment means deliberately reducing or stopping a solar plant's output - usually by briefly shutting it down - instead of feeding electricity into the grid. The Curtailer automates that decision at the device level, curtailing only when the price or subsidy rules make it the better outcome.
Isn't curtailment just revenue I would have earned?
No - curtailing only makes sense once the price is below what producing actually costs you. You set that marginal cost yourself as a threshold, and The Curtailer stops export exactly when the market price crosses it, not a moment sooner.
Why not integrate directly with our inverter's own API?
Manufacturer APIs are brand-specific and can change without notice. Device-level control avoids that, and moves with you if the inverter ever changes - so the same solution covers any project, regardless of inverter make, type, scale, or country.
What exactly do we pay for?
Basic control logic is free forever, tied to the Curtailer for life. Pro's weather-modelled performance reports are a paid subscription; Pro Plus adds measured, telemetry-based reports on top of Pro. Fleet management is a paid add-on, and REST API access is available on request - contact sales.
Which countries does The Curtailer work in?
Basic works anywhere ENTSO-E publishes day-ahead electricity prices - in practice that's nearly all of the EU and EEA, plus Switzerland and the Western Balkans. Pro and Pro Plus - performance monitoring and monthly reports (weather-modelled on Pro, measured from your Curtailer's telemetry on Pro Plus) - also need local weather data, and are live today in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands; France, Spain, Portugal and Greece are due in 2027.
Basic - any of: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland.
Pro and Pro Plus - also need weather data, live today in: Belgium, Germany, Netherlands.
Pro and Pro Plus - coming in 2027: France, Greece, Portugal, Spain.
Wouldn't a battery be better than curtailing?
Storage helps, but it doesn't remove the problem - it just delays it, and it costs far more than curtailment. Even with a battery on-site, there are hours where paying to charge from the grid, or simply curtailing, is still the cheaper move.
What about self-consumption - shouldn't we just use the power ourselves?
Self-consumption is great when your load lines up with generation, but it rarely absorbs every kWh at the moment of production. When it doesn't, exporting into a negative price is worse than not producing at all - curtailment is the cheapest way to close that gap.