Hi @kanderso-nrel

pvlib sounds pretty cool! Is there anything I shouldn't use pvlib for or that it can't do? Financial calculations, uneven terrain?

Where can I get irradiance data for my simulation?
pvlib has a module called iotools which has several functions for retrieving irradiance data as well as reading standard file formats such as EPW, TMY2, and TMY3. For free irradiance data, you may consider NREL's NSRDB which can be accessed using the (:func:pvlib.iotools.get_psm3 function and is available for North America. For Europe and Africa, you may consider looking into CAMS (:func:pvlib.iotools.get_cams). PVGIS (:func:pvlib.iotools.get_pvgis_hourly) is another option, which provides irradiance from several different databases with near global coverage. pvlib also has functions for accessing a plethora of ground-measured irradiance datasets, including the BSRN, SURFRAD, SRML, and NREL's MIDC.

pvlib sounds pretty cool!

Glad to hear you think so! I agree :)

Is there anything I shouldn't use pvlib for or that it can't do? Financial calculations, uneven terrain?

I'm a little hesitant to include a list of things that pvlib is unsuitable for. For one, that list is infinitely long. For another, what is unsuitable depends on the user -- for example I myself would surely turn to pvlib if I were tasked with modeling a system on uneven terrain, but I might not recommend others do the same. I did try to implicitly address the financial calculations point by specifying electrical performance in the "what is pvlib?" question.

On the other hand, "how do I model variable terrain in pvlib?" has been asked before, so maybe that should be an item on its own?

I have added a link to the README as @cwhanse suggested in #1546 (comment).

Finding myself with no motivation to write an entry on variable terrain, I suggest we proceed with the current set of FAQ entries and expand the list in future PRs.