Methodology
How we score, source, and verify.
Every number on GridBasics is traceable. This page documents the datasets, update cadence, limitations, and review process behind every ranking and claim.
Data sources
- Solar irradiance — NREL PVWatts API
- Wind resource — NREL Wind Toolkit
- Weather — OpenWeatherMap / WeatherAPI
- Utility rates — OpenEI Utility Rate Database
- State renewable % — EIA (Energy Information Administration)
- Country renewable % — IEA / IRENA / Our World in Data
- Incentives — DSIRE database + manual curation
- Voting records — ProPublica Congress API
- Campaign finance — FEC / OpenSecrets
- Grid carbon — EPA eGRID / WattTime
- Rooftop potential — NREL Rooftop Solar Technical Potential
Update cadence
- Rankings — monthly refresh against EIA and DSIRE
- Incentives — verified at least monthly, flagged when expired
- Voting records — per vote, as released by ProPublica
- Technology comparisons — quarterly with latest LCOE + manufacturer data
- Myths — reviewed annually and whenever new peer-reviewed evidence emerges
Composite score design
- 50-State score weights 12 metrics, each normalized 0-100 and averaged
- Lower-cost and lower-carbon metrics are inverted before averaging
- We publish every input weight and the raw values behind each state
- Scores are not absolute — they are relative within the US cohort
Editorial principles
- Every claim is sourced; no "trust us" numbers
- Every technology acknowledges its real tradeoffs
- Red and blue states receive identical treatment
- Critics are engaged on their strongest argument, not their weakest
- When we are wrong, we fix it publicly with a changelog