Methodology / Open government data
The source. The choices. The limits.
A useful directory should make its evidence easy to inspect. Here is exactly how we turn NYSERDA project records into these pages.
One public source, one fixed window
Our source is Solar Electric Programs Reported by NYSERDA Beginning 2000, published by NYSERDA on Open NY (dataset 3x8r-34rs) and discoverable through Data.gov. The snapshot was retrieved October 24, 2026, with a reporting period of September 30, 2026.
We retain only records with project status “Complete,” sector “Residential,” and an installation completion date from October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2026 inclusive. That produces 37,025 records and 37,025 distinct project IDs, independently checked against the source count. This is a frozen historical snapshot; it does not update live.
Coverage is limited to projects represented in NYSERDA’s programs. It is not a complete census of rooftop solar installations. Missing records must not be interpreted as evidence that a business has no experience.
Why these counties and these 30 names?
Suffolk, Westchester, and Albany provide three distinct county starting points with enough completed residential records for a small, useful initial directory. The release contains exactly three county guides and 30 contractor profiles.
For each county, we order exact source contractor names by recorded project count, breaking ties alphabetically, and require at least five records in that county. We take one eligible name from each county’s list in successive rounds, skipping names already selected, until we have 30 unique names. Public listings appear alphabetically. This selection is based on recorded volume, not quality, licensing, current operation, or a commercial relationship.
Profiles show all records statewide for that exact name within the fixed window. County pages count only records assigned to that county. A contractor may appear in several county guides but has one profile.
Names and identity
Contractor names remain exactly as the publisher supplies them. We do not automatically merge spelling variants, subsidiaries, acquisitions, or similarly named businesses. A source name is not a verified current business identity. We do not attach unverified websites, phone numbers, reviews, service promises, or “best installer” rankings.
How the figures are calculated
- Project counts: one distinct source project ID equals one record. This snapshot has no duplicate IDs; future imports fail if duplicates or conflicting rows appear.
- System size: the median of positive reported DC nameplate capacities in kilowatts. For an even record count, average the two middle values. Round to two decimal places and report the denominator and excluded count.
- Equipment: count exact populated panel and inverter manufacturer fields. Publish missing counts separately. Combined names remain combined; no equipment field is inferred.
- Latest completion: the latest installation completion date among the filtered records. This is not the date of verification of a company’s current operation.
- Annual activity: group by completion year. October–December 2023 and January–September 2026 are explicitly labeled partial periods.
- Geography: county names come from the source. Recorded locations do not establish a current service area.
What we leave out
We publish no homeowner names, street addresses, residential coordinates, or individual household records. We do not publish estimated prices, financing comparisons, quality scores, licensing claims, or repair-service availability. Government data can describe a recorded installation; it cannot answer all of those questions.
Source records may contain reporting errors or omissions. Check the publisher’s field definitions and original dataset when a figure is material to your decision. Dataset corrections belong with the publisher; independently verify a business before contracting.
Attribution and reproducibility
Source: NYSERDA / Open NY, reused under the Open NY terms of use. Suntrica’s aggregation and presentation are independent; neither NYSERDA nor New York State endorses these profiles.
Raw snapshot SHA-256: c60a88e4b813f5387ac0f5e1d846af2e4b88e21d63e219f037078d4ff440be3a. The build validates status, sector, dates, reporting period, unique IDs, and source totals before creating the published aggregates.