Methodology
How we research and verify
Most solar information on the public web is wrong, stale, or repackaged from someone else who got it wrong. The rooftop-solar landscape changes by quarter — incentive programs expire, utility rates shift, buyback structures get rewritten — and most publishers don't update their content when the underlying facts move. This page describes how we try to do it differently.
Source hierarchy
Every claim on this site that has a verifiable source is cited. We weight sources roughly in this order:
- Government and lab data. NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory), EIA (Energy Information Administration), DSIRE (Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency), state public utility commission filings, and utility tariff sheets.
- State energy office programs. For Illinois: Illinois Shines and the IPA. For Michigan: state energy office program pages. For Colorado: Colorado Energy Office and Xcel program documentation. For Oregon: Energy Trust of Oregon and Oregon Department of Energy.
- Industry research. Wood Mackenzie / SEIA quarterly state market reports, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab's "Tracking the Sun" report, and other primary-source practitioner data.
- Trade press. pv-magazine USA, Solar Power World, and similar — used for context, not as the sole source for a factual claim about cost, incentive, or policy.
Recency stamps
Every article and city page on this site shows a "Last verified" date in the footer. That's the date we last re-checked the underlying primary sources for the claims on that page. If a page's verified date is more than a few months old and you're using it for a real decision, check the cited sources directly to confirm nothing's moved.
What we won't publish
- Specific dollar-value claims about incentives without a current source URL
- Cost or payback estimates that aren't derived from real production data for the location
- Statements about utility billing structures without referencing the actual tariff
- Generic "solar saves you X%" claims that don't account for utility, rate, and roof specifics
- Anything we can't verify
Disagreements between sources
When primary sources disagree — and they do, especially around things like buyback rates or program eligibility — we say so on the page rather than picking one and smoothing over the conflict. Where a more authoritative source resolves the disagreement, we say which we trust and why.
Found something wrong?
Information on this site that you can show is wrong — with a primary source — gets fixed. Reach out through the quote or scheduling links below and flag it.