DSIRE is operated by the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center at North Carolina State University and describes itself as the most comprehensive source of information on incentives and policies supporting renewables and energy efficiency in the United States. It has run since 1995 and is currently supported by EnergySage.
Coverage spans federal, state, and territory programs. You can search by zip code or browse by state, and a DSIRE API provides programmatic access for teams that want to pull the data into their own tools.
How it gets used on a real project
DSIRE is the first stop when a project shows up in a state you have not worked in. Net metering rules, state tax credits, renewable portfolio standards, property tax abatements, interconnection standards: it tells you what exists and points at the authority behind it. Two working notes. Treat it as a map, not as legal advice, and always follow the citation through to the underlying statute or tariff before it goes into a model. And check the listing date, because incentive programs change faster than any database updates.