Solar power in Iowa

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.Iowa Fact Sheet 2019, Solar Energy Industries Association, accessed December 9, 2019 The state's early position as a major wind-power provider may have limited early large-scale solar investment.Iowa Fact Sheet 2018, Solar Energy Industries Association, accessed December 9, 2019

Solar panels on rooftops alone can provide 20% of all electricity used in Iowa. 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.Heartland business becomes the first entirely solar-powered company in IowaFairfield business says solar power will make it “net zero”Sky Factory Goes 100% Solar Prior to that, one of the largest arrays was the 15.75 kW array on the Marshalltown Public Library.Our Green Library , a 3.8 MW array near Dubuque is the state's largest facility. By 2024, another 380 MW of generating capacity may be installed according to projections by the Solar Energy Industries Association.

Net metering is available continuously to all consumers generating up to 500 kW, one of the best policies in the country,Iowa - Net Metering but is given a B-grade overall because of not being available to higher-consumption users.Freeing the Grid 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.Farmers Electric Cooperative (Kalona) - Renewable Energy Purchase Rate 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.Iowa Considering Feed-in TariffsSF 225

Statistics Source: NREL

Iowa grid-connected PV capacity (MW)YearCapacityChange% 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) Year Total Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov DecPercent of total annual electricity generation 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 214 9 14 20 22 23 28 27 24 13 12 121020223871116262431415158464324160.5%20235211732395267636762473427140.7%20246651838486176777574666138330.9%2025129862851231191461501551531158460461.7%2026712 (through Jun)63891111221661611.9% (through Jun)

Solar farms

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

Solar power in Iowa

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