Why a "10 kW solar system" can mean two genuinely different numbers — and why the utility, the net-metering program, and the incentive application often care about only one of them.
Ask three people to describe the same solar installation as "a 10 kW system" and there's a real chance at least one of them is talking about a different number than the other two. That's not sloppy communication — it's because a solar system has two separate, correctly-defined nameplate ratings that describe two different points in the system, and they very often aren't the same figure. Knowing which one is being quoted isn't a pedantic distinction. It's the difference between meeting an interconnection requirement and quietly failing one.