Solar power in Iowa
Solar power in Iowa is in limited, with only 27 MW installed by 2015, ranking the state 29th among U.S. states.[1] Iowa's position as a major wind power provider may have limited early solar investment. Solar on rooftops can provide 20% of all electricity used in Iowa.[2] 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 kW 3500 sq. ft. solar array.[3][4][5] Prior to that one of the largest arrays was the 15.75 kW array on the Marshalltown Public Library.[6] An 800 kW array near Kalona was the largest in the state when it went online in July, 2014.[7]
Net metering is available continuously to all consumers generating up to 500 kW, one of the best policies in the country[8] but is given a B because of not being available to large, megawatt users.[9] 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 – a separate meter is required, in a parallel connection, making it a power purchase agreement, instead of a feed-in tariff.[10] 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 systems from 20 kW to less than 20 MW.[11][12]
In December 2011, Des Moines-based MidAmerican Energy Holdings, a Berkshire Hathaway company, purchased the Topaz Solar Farm, which when completed, at 550 MW, was the largest in the world.[13][14]
Statistics
|
| Iowa Grid-Connected PV Capacity (MW)[16][17][18][19][20][21] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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% |
See also
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References
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- ↑ Iowa Fact Sheet, Solar Energy Industries Association, accessed May 19, 2016
- ↑ Report Argues for a Decentralized System of Renewable Power Generation
- ↑ Heartland business becomes the first entirely solar-powered company in Iowa
- ↑ Fairfield business says solar power will make it “net zero”
- ↑ Sky Factory Goes 100% Solar
- ↑ Our Green Library
- ↑ Kalona solar farm honored by international organization, Iowa City Press-Citizen, Nick Fetty, November 23, 2014
- ↑ Iowa - Net Metering
- ↑ Freeing the Grid
- ↑ Farmers Electric Cooperative (Kalona) - Renewable Energy Purchase Rate
- ↑ Iowa Considering Feed-in Tariffs
- ↑ SF 225
- ↑ First Solar Sells California Solar Farm to MidAmerican Energy Holdings
- ↑ Topaz, the Largest Solar Plant in the World, Is Now Fully Operational
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- ↑ Iowa Solar
