State-Level Community Solar Policies and Programs in the United States

This dataset summarizes current community solar policies and related stipulations by state in the United States. It is updated multiple times per year by the Department of Energy.

Use Cases

• Analyze policy adoption patterns across states to identify regional trends in community solar support.
• Compare specific policy stipulations, such as program caps or subscriber eligibility rules, between different states.
• Track changes in state-level community solar program details over time using archived versions of the dataset.

Strengths

• Managed and updated by the U.S. Department of Energy, an authoritative source on energy policy.
• Includes an archive of previous dataset versions, allowing for historical analysis of policy evolution.
• Explicitly invites user input for corrections and updates, which can help maintain data accuracy.

Limitations

• The dataset's creators note that errors may exist and the list may not be comprehensive.
• No specific information is provided on the number of rows, columns, or the exact data structure.

Provenance

Source

Department of Energy

Time Range

Current policies, with archives available from before August 2024.

Freshness

Updated multiple times per year; last updated March 2026.

Geography

United States, by state.