Original data research from PlainSolarData. Every page draws current numbers directly from the source dataset; no numbers are hardcoded.
PlainSolarData ranks the 50 US states plus the District of Columbia by total installed solar photovoltaic nameplate capacity (MW-AC) as reported by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Draws current numbers directly from the states dataset.
PlainSolarData ranks US states by the modeled residential solar payback period (years to break-even on a representative 6 kW rooftop system) using NREL irradiance, state-average electricity rates, and current system installation cost.
PlainSolarData counts the residential and commercial solar incentive programs catalogued in the DSIRE database for each US state and ranks states by program count, updated automatically as new data is published.
PlainSolarData measures the statistical correlation between average solar irradiance and modeled residential solar payback period, computed live from the current dataset.