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Solar power in Iowa

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Solar installation on a farm

Solar power in Iowa is limited but growing, with 137 megawatts (MW) installed by the end of 2019 and 27 MW installed during that year, ranking the state 40th among U.S. states. Iowa also generated 0.23% of the state's total electricity production in 2019 from solar energy; an amount sufficient to power over 17,000 Iowa homes.[1] The state's early position as a major wind-power provider may have limited early large-scale solar investment.[2]

Solar panels on rooftops alone can provide 20% of all electricity used in Iowa.[3] On June 7, 2012, Sky Factory in Fairfield became the first company in the state to generate all of their electricity from solar power, with the installation of a 54 kilowatt (kW) 3500 sq. ft. solar array.[4][5][6] Prior to that one of the largest arrays was the 15.75 kW array on the Marshalltown Public Library.[7] Currently, a 3.8 MW array near Dubuque is the state's largest facility.[8] By 2024, another 380 MW of generating capacity may be installed according to projections by the Solar Energy Industries Association.[1]

Solar roof, Des Moines

Net metering is available continuously to all consumers generating up to 500 kW, one of the best policies in the country,[9] but is given a B-grade overall because of not being available to higher-consumption users.[10] A feed-in tariff is available for customers of the Farmers Electrical Cooperative for up to 25% of their electricity. It pays 20 cents/kWh for electricity generated, none of which can be directly used since a separate meter is required, in a parallel connection, making it a power purchase agreement instead of a feed-in tariff.[11] The state of Iowa has proposed a feed-in tariff, in Senate bill SF 225. A separate rate applies for systems less than 20 kW and for systems more than 20 kW up to 20 MW.[12][13]

Statistics

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Source: NREL[14]
Iowa Grid-Connected PV Capacity (MW)[15][16][17][18][19][20]
Year Capacity Change % Change
2010 <0.1 - -
2011 0.1 <0.1 -
2012 1.2 1.1 1100%
2013 4.6 3.4 283%
2014 21 16.4 356%
2015 27 6 29%
2016 50 23 85%
2017 65.4 15.4 31%
2018 96 30.6 47%
2019 125.5 29.5 31%
2020 287.8 162.3 129%
2021 446.6 158.8 55%
2022 658 211.4 47%
Utility-scale solar generation in Iowa (GWh)[21]
Year Total Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
2017 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
2018 11 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 0 0
2019 16 1 0 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1
2020 23 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 2 1 1 1
2021 202 9 14 20 22 23 28 27 24 13 12 10

Solar farms

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See also: List of power stations in Iowa § Solar farms

As of year 2020, Iowa hosts six grid-connected facilities with generating capacity larger than 1.5 MW.[22] The largest is the 3.8 MWAC West Dubuque Solar Garden commissioned for Alliant Energy in September, 2017.[8]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Iowa Fact Sheet 2019, Solar Energy Industries Association, accessed December 9, 2019
  2. ^ Iowa Fact Sheet 2018, Solar Energy Industries Association, accessed December 9, 2019
  3. ^ Report Argues for a Decentralized System of Renewable Power Generation
  4. ^ Heartland business becomes the first entirely solar-powered company in Iowa
  5. ^ Fairfield business says solar power will make it “net zero”
  6. ^ Sky Factory Goes 100% Solar
  7. ^ Our Green Library
  8. ^ a b "Solar Generation - Iowa Solar Projects". Alliant Energy. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
  9. ^ Iowa - Net Metering
  10. ^ Freeing the Grid
  11. ^ Farmers Electric Cooperative (Kalona) - Renewable Energy Purchase Rate
  12. ^ Iowa Considering Feed-in Tariffs
  13. ^ SF 225
  14. ^ "PV Watts". NREL. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  15. ^ Sherwood, Larry (August 2012). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2011" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-09-06. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
  16. ^ Sherwood, Larry (June 2011). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2010" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). Retrieved 2011-06-29.
  17. ^ Sherwood, Larry (July 2009). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2008" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-11-23. Retrieved 2010-07-24.
  18. ^ Sherwood, Larry (July 2012). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2012" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). p. 16. Retrieved 2013-10-11.
  19. ^ Sherwood, Larry (July 2014). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2013" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). Retrieved 2014-09-26.
  20. ^ "Iowa Solar". Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  21. ^ "Electricity Data Browser". U.S. Department of Energy. March 28, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  22. ^ "Solar Industry Association's Major Solar Projects List". Solar Energy Industries Association. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
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