DSIRE

What DSIRE does

DSIRE is a publicly accessible, non-profit database cataloging federal, state, local, utility, and third-party programs offering financial incentives and policy mechanisms that support adoption of renewable energy and energy efficiency in the United States. Operated since 1995 by the NC Clean Energy Technology Center at North Carolina State University under a registered university trademark, DSIRE inventories approximately 2,800+ active program records spanning all 50 states and U.S. territories and serves roughly 80,000 monthly unique visitors drawn from policymakers, utilities, project developers, installers, researchers, and individual consumers. The dataset is distributed free of charge under a Creative Commons license, with program records continuously maintained by an internal team monitoring legislation, regulatory dockets, utility filings, and program-administrator communications.

The product surface has evolved beyond a single web compendium into three distinct commercial sub-brands. DSIRE Insight is a subscription research service producing thematic 50-state reports on emerging policy areas such as virtual power plants, grid modernization, electric-vehicle policy, and solar decommissioning. DSIRE API is a programmatic interface hosted on AWS that allows enterprise clients — including software platforms, consulting firms, and siting tools — to integrate the full DSIRE incentive dataset directly into proprietary workflows. DSIRE Consulting delivers bespoke research, briefings, and analysis engagements. Underlying technology is centered on a curated, manually maintained database of structured program metadata, augmented by quarterly summary maps and downloadable tax-credit tables; there is no disclosed AI or machine-learning component.

DSIRE's commercial model is a non-profit operation embedded in a public university research center, combining mission-aligned work with limited commercial monetization. Revenue is generated through three channels: a web sponsorship program capped at five sponsors paying $5,000 per six-month period (listed on the public site); quote-based enterprise API access; and project-based consulting engagements. Historical funding came primarily from the U.S. Department of Energy (most recent disclosed grant covering 2013–2016) supplemented by state agency support, with the post-2016 transition toward commercial revenue still in progress.

Name

DSIRE

Legal name

North Carolina State University

Website

https://dsireusa.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

DSIRE is a free, publicly available non-profit database of U.S. renewable-energy and energy-efficiency incentives, operated since 1995 by NC State University's NC Clean Energy Technology Center, serving policymakers, installers, developers, and consumers across all 50 states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Policy Database

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

DER Aggregation & Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) (EUAMAJAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Customer Grid-Edge Enablement Services (HEMS/DR Device Integration, VPP Enablement) (EUAEANAL), VPP Orchestration & Aggregator Operating Platforms (EUAFAKAC), DER Dispatch, Aggregation & Virtual Power Plant (VPP) Integration (EUADALAI)

Keywords

• Renewable energy incentives
• Energy efficiency policies
• Clean energy database
• State incentive tracking
• Policy data platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Raleigh

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. DSIRE Sponsorship: Organizations pay $5,000 for six months of prominent logo placement on the DSIRE homepage with a direct link to their website. Up to five sponsor slots available, first-come, first-served.
2. DSIRE API Access: Subscription-based access to the full DSIRE database content in real time, allowing subscribers to present results on their own websites and tools. Pricing not publicly disclosed.
3. DSIRE Consulting Services: Custom research and analysis services provided by NC Clean Energy Technology Center analysts, including comparative state policy analysis, pending legislative/regulatory analysis, new markets research, and DSIRE Distillation reports.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

DSIRE is a comprehensive free public database that aggregates and disseminates approximately 2,800+ federal, state, territorial, local, and utility-level incentives and policies supporting renewable energy and energy efficiency across all 50 U.S. states and territories. It sells complementary premium services including the DSIRE API (real-time programmatic access via AWS), DSIRE Insight (subscription-based premium analytical content and reports), DSIRE Consulting (custom policy research), and homepage sponsorships, serving installers, policymakers, utilities, researchers, and electricity consumers.

Product overview

DSIRE (Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency) is a policy and incentive information platform operated by the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center at N.C. State University. The core offering is a free public database covering federal, state, local, and utility-level incentives and policies for renewable energy and energy efficiency across all 50 U.S. states and territories. The product portfolio consists of the public DSIRE Database as the foundational free resource, the subscription-based DSIRE Insight service providing premium analysis and reports, the DSIRE API enabling real-time programmatic access to the full dataset via AWS, and the DSIRE Consulting professional service for custom research. Supplementary resources include Detailed Summary Maps (quarterly updated geographic policy overviews in PowerPoint and PDF formats), Database Archives (monthly data exports), and a Glossary covering all incentive and policy types tracked in the system.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• DSIRE Insight: Subscription service providing additional analysis and insights beyond the free database.
• DSIRE API
• DSIRE Consulting

Products and services

• DSIRE Database (Public) A free, publicly accessible searchable database providing summaries of federal, state, local, and utility-level incentives and policies supporting renewable energy and energy efficiency across all 50 U.S. states and territories. Users can filter by state, incentive type, technology type, implementing sector, and eligible sector.
• DSIRE Insight A subscription-based extension of the DSIRE database providing additional premium content, including DSIRE Insight blog posts, advanced research reports (e.g., 50 States of Solar Decommissioning, 50 States of Virtual Power Plants), and deeper policy analysis not available in the free public database.
• DSIRE API A real-time API providing full access to the DSIRE database, including policies and incentives across all 50 states, quantitative incentive data, qualitative policy details, zip code associations, and filtering by 124 energy technology categories. Delivered via AWS infrastructure for subscriber integration into their own websites, tools, and applications.
• DSIRE Consulting Custom research and analysis services provided by NC Clean Energy Technology Center analysts for topics extending beyond the scope of the free database. Services include comparative state policy analysis, pending legislative/regulatory action analysis, new markets research, and DSIRE Distillation custom deliverables.
• DSIRE Homepage Sponsorship Paid homepage placement providing sponsors with prominent logo placement and direct links on the DSIRE homepage for six months, priced at $5,000 per sponsor with up to five slots available.

Quantifiable outcome

• 80,000 monthly unique visitors accessing the database

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• EnergySagecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024EnergySage provides support to DSIRE. EnergySage's solar calculator is integrated on the DSIRE website, and DSIRE receives endorsement and referral support from EnergySage.
• Indian Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Policy Database (IREEED)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012DSIRE staff and NCSU supported the development of India's IREEED database in collaboration with U.S. DOE and India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. Beta version launched at ireeed.gov.in.
• N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center (NCSU)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1995DSIRE is operated by the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center at N.C. State University. The Center provides research staff, analysts, and institutional infrastructure to maintain and update the policy and incentive database.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA): EIA is the federal government's primary energy data publisher covering consumption, production, and policy. It overlaps with DSIRE on federal incentive reporting and is the broadest incumbent reference for U.S. energy information.
• Wood Mackenzie: Wood Mackenzie is a large commercial energy research and data provider covering renewables, grid, and policy globally. Its paid subscription reports and data products compete with DSIRE Insight at the high end of the market.
• BloombergNEF: BloombergNEF is a global commercial provider of clean energy, policy, and market intelligence. While broader in scope, it overlaps with DSIRE Insight in serving analysts and strategists tracking renewable policy and incentives.
• NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory): NREL was a historical DSIRE funder (2002-2013 subcontracts) and is a much larger federally funded research lab producing complementary open data, analysis, and tools on renewable energy and efficiency. NREL is the broader institutional incumbent in the same content category.
• Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL): LBNL's Energy Markets and Policy group publishes high-impact research on solar adoption, rate design, and incentives — frequently cited alongside DSIRE data. It is a federally funded research peer with overlapping policy-tracking output.

Emerging players

• Atlas Public Policy: Atlas Public Policy builds commercial clean energy policy dashboards (e.g., EV Hub, Solar States Alliance) covering state and federal incentives and programs. It competes with DSIRE Insight for paid policy analytics customers while DSIRE owns the free database category.

Regional players

• Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA): SEIA is the U.S. national solar industry trade association producing market reports, policy briefs, and state-level incentive summaries for the same installer/developer audience DSIRE serves. It complements rather than directly competes with DSIRE's free database.

Direct peers

• EnergySage: EnergySage is a leading solar marketplace serving the same consumer and installer audience as DSIRE and has an embedded partnership (solar calculator, referral traffic). Both surface incentives and policy information to drive solar adoption, making EnergySage the closest commercial peer despite its transactional model.
• Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA): CESA is a coalition of state clean energy funds that publishes program and policy information for member-state programs. It operates in a closely adjacent niche to DSIRE, focused on state-level program design and learning.
• Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC): IREC is a non-profit focused on clean energy workforce, codes, and standards with parallel policy-tracking functions to DSIRE. Both serve as authoritative non-commercial resources for state and utility clean energy program information.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/dsireusa
• Facebookfacebook.com/DSIREUSA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/u.s.-department-of-energy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DSIRE