K. Sydny Fujita Zachary H. Ancona Louisa A. Kramer Mary Straka Tandie E. Gautreau Christopher P. Garrity Dana Robson Jay E. Diffendorfer Ben Hoen 20260414 Vector Digital Data Set (Shape) Denver, CO U.S. Geological Survey https://doi.org/10.5066/P9IA3TUS https://energy.usgs.gov/uspvdb/ K. Sydny Fujita Zachary H. Ancona Louisa A. Kramer Jay E. Diffendorfer Mary Straka Tandie E. Gautreau Dana Robson Ben Hoen Christopher P. Garrity 20231108 publications Scientific Data 10:760 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-02644-8 Analysts from the U.S. Geological Survey and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory collaborated to develop and release the United States large-scale Solar Photovoltaic Database (USPVDB). This effort built from the expertise gained while developing the regularly updated United States Wind Turbine Database (USWTDB). Starting from Energy Information Administration (EIA) data, locations of large-scale solar photovoltaic (LSPV) facilities were visually verified using high-resolution aerial imagery; a polygon was drawn around the extent of facility panel arrays, and facility attributes were appended. Quality assurance and control were achieved via team peer review and comparing the USPVDB to other datasets of U.S. solar photovoltaic facilities. Some facility information did not exist within our source data or not yet built, not built at all, or located elsewhere. Thus, uncertainty may exist for certain facilities and a confidence level of 1 to 4 is given for each. The data are not field verified. The purpose of this information is to provide a publicly available, spatially referenced, national dataset of large-scale Solar Photovoltaic facilities (LSPV) and some of their technical specifications. An appropriate use of the data would be for scientific analysis, research, or for general interest for the public. Compressed files provided within this data release product are in the ESRI shapefile format. The user must have software capable of uncompressing the file and displaying the shapefile. In lieu of ArcGIS, the user may utilize another GIS application package capable of importing the data. 1985 2025 ground condition Complete Yearly -150.921413 -44.622032 71.987409 9.621163 None – Free Keywords Solar Photovoltaic ground-mounted large-scale solar USGS Metadata Identifier USGS:6671c479d34e84915adb7536 GNIS United States None. Please see 'Distribution Info' for details. None. Users are advised to read the dataset's metadata thoroughly to understand appropriate use and data limitations. Sydny Fujita Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory mailing and physical

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Berkeley CA 94720 United States 510-486-5796 uspvdb@lbl.gov Credit is given to USGS student interns for their contributions. Extensive update work was done by Kari E. Wellman for Version 3 of the USPVDB data. Tandie E. Gautreau made significant contributions to Versions 1 and 2, while Mary Straka contributed significantly to Version 1. The work described herein was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) under Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) Award Number 38419. The authors thank SETO for their support. USGS personnel were also supported by the Energy Resources Program, including Evan Bargnesi, Eric Morrissey, Jeremy Ray, and the Land Change Science Program, with special thanks to Darren (Paco) Van Sistine for his reviews and comments. The authors acknowledge Robi Nilson from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for her assistance in the production of these data. From the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Gail Mosey was instrumental in sourcing and providing advice on the use of the EPA Matrix data; Jordan Macnick provided valuable advice and data for agrivoltaic sites; Jianyu Gu officially reviewed the data release; and Joe Rand reviewed this manuscript. Large-scale solar photovoltaic (LSPV) polygons were created and spatially verified using aerial imagery to confirm or edit their correct positions. The map scale used while verifying and digitizing solar installations depended on location, need, and imagery availability. Authors used aerial imagery with a typical assessment map scale of 1:2,000 to 1:5,000. None of the spatial verification was done at a map scale smaller than 1:5,000. Uncertainty exists as indicated by the confidence level applied to each site location. Values range from 1 to 4 with lower values representing a lower confidence. 1- Multiphase facility or multiple Energy Information Administration (EIA) records with identical location. A single polygon is used to represent multiple facilities indistinguishable from one another; attributes may not reflect full scope of facilities. 2- Multiple polygons created, but EIA records are unclear; attributes may not reflect full scope of facilities. 3- Polygon reflects only a part of the facility due to poor image quality; the area of polygon may not reflect the full size of array(s). 4- Facility polygons created with high confidence. No formal logical accuracy tests were conducted. Data set is considered complete for the information presented, as described in the abstract. Users are advised to read the metadata record carefully for additional details. We recognize that there exists some number of U.S. LSPV facilities that are not included in the data. However, we do not attempt to append additional sites not in the base EIA 860 data, due to our inability to compile the same level of detailed attributes (e.g., capacity, site name, operational date, etc.). No formal positional accuracy tests were conducted. No formal positional accuracy tests were conducted. EIA 202512 Digital and/or Hardcopy Resources https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia860/ Digital and/or Hardcopy Resources 202512 publication date EIA-860 Source information used in support of the development of the location of solar facilities. The USPVDB dataset creation process consisted of five primary stages, with iterative troubleshooting at several locations: (1) data collection and initial screening, (2) georectifying facility locations, (3) digitizing facility arrays, (4) quality checking and review, and (5) final formatting of the data. Due to the large number of large-scale solar photovoltaic (LSPV) facilities in the United States, four analysts shared the digitizing work, generally each working through one state's facilities at a time. As part of the initial screening, facilities from the EIA data were included if the following criteria were met: (1) the generation technology is photovoltaic, (2) the panels are ground-mounted, parking canopy, or rooftop arrays, (3) the facility capacity is greater than or equal to 1 MW, and (4) the facility can be identified in high-resolution imagery. To georectify the locations and shapes of photovoltaic (PV) facilities, we utilized EIA Form 860 data along with high-resolution aerial imagery from sources like Maxar, Planet, and Google Maps. Each location point was verified, and the shapes were digitized, with geospatial adjustments made based on visual confirmation from the imagery. We primarily relied on Maxar Technologies (MT) satellite imagery to determine the extent of solar arrays and for georectification due to its regularly updated imagery and the convenience of using an Enhanced View Web Hosting Service (EV-WHS) account and plug-in as the imagery as a base layer within ArcGIS. Maxar data vary in resolution and frequency of imaging across the United States. Higher populated areas tend to be imaged more frequently than sparsely populated rural areas, such that for some solar facilities, we could select the clearest image from a large set of dates when digitizing, while for others, we had only a single image to work from. Additionally, there is a temporal lag between the date a facility becomes operational and the most recent images in Maxar, ranging from several months to several years. Because of this delay in imaging, more recently constructed solar projects are less likely to be visible in the available satellite imagery. We recognize that there are some U.S. LSPV facilities that are not included in the EIA data. However, we do not attempt to append additional sites to the EIA data due to resource and time limitations to compile the same level of detailed attributes (e.g., capacity, site name, operational date, etc.). Data are typically updated annually. This process involves reviewing and incorporating newer photovoltaic (PV) facilities from the previous year's EIA Form 860 data. Additionally, we refine or update previous version data based on the available imagery and resources to ensure accuracy and relevance. For more details about the initial process, please refer to the journal article titled "Georectified polygon database of ground-mounted large-scale solar photovoltaic sites in the United States," available at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-02644-8. 20250423 Vector G-polygon 6611 Albers Conical Equal Area 20.0 60.0 -96.0 40.0 0.0 0.0 coordinate pair 0.6096 0.6096 meters North_American_Datum_1983 GRS 1980 6378137.0 298.257222101 Attribute Table Table containing attribute information associated with the data set. Producer defined FID Internal feature number that is unique to the shapefile and not in the csv. ESRI Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated. Shape Feature geometry that is unique to the shapefile and not in the csv. ESRI Coordinates defining the features. case_id Unique stable identification number. Producer defined 400004 407577 multi_poly Indicates the facility's polygon type, single or multi. Single-facility is represented by a single polygon. Multi-facility is represented by a multi-part polygon composed of at least two separate polygons, sharing a single record. Producer defined single Facility is represented by a single polygon. Producer defined multi Facility is represented by a multi-part polygon composed of at least two separate polygons, sharing a single record. Producer defined eia_id Unique facility identifier from EIA Form 860 for cross-reference from the EIA Links to the EIA plant_code found in the CSV datasets at https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia860/. EIA 645 69098 p_state Postal 2-letter state abbreviation in which a point representation (ylat and xlong) of the LSPV facility is located, computed in ArcMap using U.S. Census/U.S. Postal Service. U.S. Census U.S. Postal 2-Letter State U.S. Census / U.S. Postal Service https://www2.census.gov/geo/tiger/TIGER_RD18/LAYER/. p_county Name of the county in which a point representation of the LSPV facility is located. U.S. Census Name of county in which a point representation (ylat and xlong) of the LSPV facility is located. Computed in ArcMap using U.S. Census maps https://www2.census.gov/geo/tiger/TIGER_RD18/LAYER/. ylat Latitude of a point representation of the LSPV facility's location, in decimal degrees, calculated in ArcMap using the calculate geometry tool with North American Datum 1983 (NAD 83) coordinate system. Representative points are a single point intended to reflect the location of facility panels as accurately as possible. For single-array facilities, values are calculated in the center of the array. For multi-part polygons, values are generated within the array that is closest to the centroid of the multi-part polygon. Producer defined 19.6558 66.8385 decimal degrees xlong Longitude of a point representation of the LSPV facility's location, in decimal degrees, calculated in ArcMap using the calculate geometry tool with North American 1983 (NAD 83) coordinate system. Representative points are a single point intended to reflect the location of facility panels as accurately as possible. For single-array facilities, values are calculated in the center of the array. For multi-part polygons, values are generated within the array that is closest to the centroid of the multi-part polygon. Producer defined -162.5531 -67.4623 decimal degrees p_area Area of the facility array(s) in square meters (sq m), calculated in ArcMap with the calculate geometry tool with Albers Equal Area Conic projection. This area only includes facility panels and inverters and does not include buildings, facility fence lines, nor the full disturbed area. Producer defined 869 18802490 square meters (sq m) p_img_date Acquisition date in yyyymmdd format of the aerial image used to confirm the facility location and geometry, from aerial image vendor (Maxar) metadata. MAXAR Global EDG https://www.maxar.com/. 20090417 20260208 p_dig_conf Level of confidence in the facility's attributes, from low to high. Higher values represent a higher confidence. Producer defined 1 Value 1 - multi-phase facility or multiple EIA records with an identical location. A single polygon used to represent multiple facilities indistinguishable from one another; attributes may not accurately describe the actual installed facilities. Producer defined 2 Value 2 - multiple polygons created, but EIA records are unclear; attributes may not accurately describe the actual installed facilities. Producer defined 3 Value 3 - polygon reflects only a part of the facility due to poor image quality; area of polygon may not accurately describe the actual installed facilities. Producer defined 4 Value 4 - facility polygons created with high confidence. Producer defined p_name Facility name from EIA Form 860. Names may be slightly adjusted for format consistency. EIA Facility name from EIA Form 860. p_year Year the facility began operating from EIA form 860. EIA 1985 2025 p_pwr_reg Common abbreviation of regional power authority name (e.g., MISO) from EIA Form 860; some records for Hawaii are missing as they were not included in EIA data. EIA missing "missing" values in the shapefile and blank values in the CSV are unknown. Producer defined Common abbreviation of regional power authority name (e.g., MISO) from EIA Form 860. p_tech_pri Electric generation technology type (e.g., PV ) from EIA Form 860. EIA PV Photovoltaic. Photovoltaics (PV) convert light into electricity using semiconducting materials. Only one p_tech_pri type is in this data at this time. Producer defined p_tech_sec Additional detail on panel type (e.g., thin film, c-Si) from EIA Form 860. EIA missing "missing" values in the shapefile and blank values in the CSV are unknown. Producer defined c-si Crystalline silicon or c-Si indicates the crystalline forms of silicon, either polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si, consisting of small crystals), or monocrystalline silicon (mono-Si, a continuous crystal). Crystalline silicon is the dominant semiconducting material used in photovoltaic technology for the production of solar cells. EIA thin-film Thin-film solar cells (TFSC) are manufactured using a single or multiple layers of PV elements over a surface comprised of a variety of glass, plastic, or metal. EIA c-si,cpv,thin-film Crystalline silicon or c-Si indicates the crystalline forms of silicon, either polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si, consisting of small crystals), or monocrystalline silicon (mono-Si, a continuous crystal). Crystalline silicon is the dominant semiconducting material used in photovoltaic technology for the production of solar cells. Concentrator photovoltaics (CPV) (also known as concentration photovoltaics) is a photovoltaic technology that generates electricity from sunlight. Unlike conventional photovoltaic systems, it uses lenses or curved mirrors to focus sunlight onto small, highly efficient, multi-junction (MJ) solar cells. Thin-film solar cells (TFSC) are manufactured using a single or multiple layers of PV elements over a surface comprised of a variety of glass, plastic, or metal. EIA c-si,thin-film Crystalline silicon or c-Si is the crystalline forms of silicon, either polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si, consisting of small crystals), or monocrystalline silicon (mono-Si, a continuous crystal). Crystalline silicon is the dominant semiconducting material used in photovoltaic technology for the production of solar cells. Thin-film solar cells (TFSC) are manufactured using a single or multiple layers of PV elements over a surface comprised of a variety of glass, plastic, or metal. EIA cpv Concentrator photovoltaics (CPV) (also known as concentration photovoltaics) is a photovoltaic technology that generates electricity from sunlight. Unlike conventional photovoltaic systems, it uses lenses or curved mirrors to focus sunlight onto small, highly efficient, multi-junction (MJ) solar cells. EIA c-si,cpv Crystalline silicon or (c-Si) is the crystalline form of silicon, either polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si, consisting of small crystals), or monocrystalline silicon (mono-Si, a continuous crystal). Crystalline silicon is the dominant semiconducting material used in photovoltaic technology for the production of solar cells. Concentrator photovoltaics (CPV) (also known as concentration photovoltaics) is a photovoltaic technology that generates electricity from sunlight. Unlike conventional photovoltaic systems, it uses lenses or curved mirrors to focus sunlight onto small, highly efficient, multi-junction (MJ) solar cells. EIA other Category used for technologies that do not fit into typical technologies, which can include experimental or emerging technologies, hybrid systems that are not classifiable, or cases where respondents cannot classify the technology into standard EIA categories. EIA p_sys_type This field denotes the general type of each large-scale PV facility system type, as when viewed in an image. Facilities are categorized as: ground-mounted system (“ground”), rooftop system (“rooftop”), parking lot canopy system (“canopy”), a system floating on a body of water (“floating”), or a combination of several of these system descriptors (e.g., “canopy,rooftop”). Producer defined ground Ground-mounted system, typically in open land areas. Producer defined canopy Canopy system on elevated structures and over surfaces like parking lots. Producer defined rooftop Systems mounted on building rooftops. Producer defined canopy,rooftop Canopy system on elevated structures and over surfaces like parking lots. Systems mounted on building rooftops. Producer defined canopy,ground,rooftop Canopy system on elevated structures and over surfaces like parking lots. Ground-mounted system, typically in open land areas. Systems mounted on building rooftops. Producer defined canopy,ground Canopy system on elevated structures and over surfaces like parking lots. Ground-mounted system, typically in open land areas. Producer defined floating Floating system on a body of water. Producer defined ground,rooftop Ground-mounted system, typically in open land areas. Systems mounted on building rooftops. Producer defined p_axis Array axis type (e.g., single-axis) from EIA Form 860. EIA missing "missing" values in the shapefile and blank values in the CSV are unknown. Producer defined fixed-tilt A fixed-tilt array is a type of solar panel installation in which the solar panels are mounted at a fixed angle and orientation, typically facing south to maximize sunlight exposure. EIA single-axis A single-axis solar tracker is a unidirectional system that can move only on one axis of movement, which typically allows it to move east to west. EIA fixed-tilt,single-axis A fixed-tilt array is a type of solar panel installation in which the solar panels are mounted at a fixed angle and orientation, typically facing south to maximize sunlight exposure. A single-axis solar tracker is a unidirectional system that can move only on one axis of movement, which typically allows it to move east to west. EIA dual-axis Dual-axis solar panels allow multi-directional tracking so the solar panels maintain an optimal 90° angle to the sun at all times. EIA dual-axis,fixed-tilt,single-axis Dual-axis solar panels allow multi-directional tracking so the solar panels maintain an optimal 90° angle to the sun at all times. A fixed-tilt array is a type of solar panel installation in which the solar panels are mounted at a fixed angle and orientation, typically facing south to maximize sunlight exposure. A single-axis solar tracker is a unidirectional system that can move only on one axis of movement, which typically allows it to move east to west. EIA p_azimuth Array azimuth (i.e., east-west orientation in degrees) from EIA Form 860. A single-axis solar tracker is a unidirectional system that can move only on one axis of movement, which typically allows it to move east to west. If multiple angles were provided, the average was calculated for the matching plant IDs EIA -9999 No values provided by the EIA. -9999 in shapefile and blank in CSV. Producer defined 0 360 degrees p_tilt Tilt angle of panels (i.e., angle of panels from horizontal in degrees) from EIA Form 860. If multiple angles were provided, the average was calculated for the matching plant IDs. EIA -9999 No values provided by the EIA. -9999 in shapefile and blank in CSV. Producer defined 0 90 degrees p_battery Indicator of the presence of battery storage at the facility from EIA Form 860. EIA missing No values provided by the EIA, was blank. Missing in shapefile and blank in CSV. Producer defined batteries Battery energy storage. Producer defined p_cap_ac Facility capacity in megawatts AC (Alternating Current) from EIA Form 860. EIA 0.2 690.0 megawatts p_cap_dc Facility capacity in megawatts DC (Direct Current) from EIA Form 860. EIA 1.0 788.2 p_type General categorization of facility mostly from the EPA's RE-Powering Matrix ("Matrix dataset"). Producer defined greenfield Greenfield facilities encompass the remainder of LSPV facilities that do not fall into one of the other named categories. Greenfield sites represent the majority of LSPV facilities and occupy land that may have previously been wildland, urbanized, cultivated, or reclaimed. Populated from EPA's Repowering Matrix (https://www.epa.gov/re-powering/re-powering-tracking-matrix) and producer adjusted as described. Producer defined superfund Superfund sites are inactive or abandoned contaminated facilities or locations where there is an active release or threatened release into the environment of hazardous substances that have been dumped, discharged, emitted or otherwise improperly managed. These sites may include manufacturing and industrial facilities, processing plants, landfills, and mining sites, among others. Taken directly from the Matrix dataset. EPA matrix defined landfill Sites that have been designated as landfills in EPA's RE-Powering Matrix. Taken directly from the Matrix dataset. EPA matrix defined AML AML (Abandoned Mine Land) includes abandoned hardrock mines and mineral processing sites listed in the Superfund Enterprise Management System (SEMS) at this time. Taken directly from the Matrix dataset. EPA matrix defined PCSC PCSC (Previous, Current, or Suspected Contamination). When no specific designation is provided in the Matrix dataset, "brownfield" sites were assigned to a generalized PCSC facility type. Producer defined RCRA RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) - sites are a specific category of commercial, industrial and Federal facilities that treat, store or dispose of hazardous wastes and that require cleanup under the RCRA Hazardous Waste Corrective Action Program. Taken directly from the Matrix dataset. EPA matrix defined landfill named Assigned in cases where EPA did not identify the site as a landfill, but the facility name includes the word "landfill". It is possible that these sites have been sufficiently cleaned or were never contaminated to the point of meeting the PCSC designation; thus, they are distinguished from EPA-designated landfill sites. Producer defined p_agrivolt Agrivoltaic facilities make use of the land between panel rows and surrounding arrays for agricultural uses (i.e., crop production or grazing) and/or ecosystem services (e.g., pollinator habitat). Agrivoltaic sites are categorized into the following designations: crop; crop,es; es; grazing; grazing,es; non-agrivoltaic. See https://openei.org/wiki/InSPIRE/Agrivoltaics_Map. OpenEI-defined through the InSPIRE dataset crop Crop. OpenEI-defined through the InSPIRE dataset non-agrivoltaic Non-agrivoltaic. OpenEI-defined through the InSPIRE dataset grazing Grazing. OpenEI-defined through the InSPIRE dataset es Ecosystem services (e.g., pollinator habitat). OpenEI-defined through the InSPIRE dataset es,grazing Ecosystem services (e.g., pollinator habitat). Grazing. OpenEI-defined through the InSPIRE dataset crop,es Crop. Ecosystem services (e.g., pollinator habitat). OpenEI-defined through the InSPIRE dataset crop,grazing Crop.Grazing. OpenEI-defined through the InSPIRE dataset crop,grazing,es Crop.Grazing.Ecosystem services (e.g., pollinator habitat). OpenEI-defined through the InSPIRE dataset p_comm Indicator of community solar facilities, in which customers, including individuals and/or businesses, typically subscribe to, or in some cases own, a portion of the energy generated by a solar array. For facilities meeting this definition, this field has a value of “community solar;” it is otherwise blank in the CSV or "missing" in the shapefile. Producer defined missing "missing" values in the shapefile and blank values in the CSV are unknown. Producer defined community solar Community solar projects are a purchasing program type, within a geographic area, in which the benefits of solar generation flow to multiple customers, such as individuals, businesses, nonprofits, and other groups. Customers typically subscribe to it. Producer defined p_zscore The z-score of the ratio of facility capacity (in DC) and facility area (p_cap_dc/p_area). A z-score measures how far a record is from the mean of all records in the field in units of standard deviations. Records with high or low z-scores may have an error in either p_cap_dc or p_area. Producer defined -1.037586 58.179829 Associated files have a naming convention by current version and date. Files include shapefile, CSV, FGDC-compliant metadata, and a changelog. The suggested citation for use in academic papers and otherwise where applicable is as follows: Fujita, K.S., Ancona, Z.H., Kramer, L.A., Straka, M., Gautreau, T.E., Garrity, C.P., Robson, D., Diffendorfer, J.E., and Hoen, B., 2023, United States Large-Scale Solar Photovoltaic Database (ver. 4.0, APRIL 2026): U.S. Geological Survey and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9IA3TUS. U.S. Geological Survey - ScienceBase mailing address

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Denver CO 80225 1-888-275-8747 sciencebase@usgs.gov Unless otherwise stated, all data, metadata, and related materials are considered to satisfy the quality standards relative to the purpose for which the data were collected. Although these data and associated metadata have been reviewed for accuracy and completeness and approved for release by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data for other purposes, nor on all computer systems, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. SHP CSV https://doi.org/10.5066/P9IA3TUS https://energy.usgs.gov/uspvdb/ None 20260414 Louisa Kramer Geology, Energy, and Minerals Science Center GIScience mailing address

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