For those who follow solar news in the United States, it’s understandable if the activity near the West and East coasts often draws the most attention. For example, during a dinner I had with Schletter’s George Varney in May, he shared his experience of visiting one of the largest solar photovoltaic farms in the world, the 550 MW Topaz power plant in Central California, which consists of some 9 million solar panels spread across 9.5 square miles. “I stood on a platform there and all you could see in every direction was solar—it was amazing,” he told me. Major initiatives and projects in New York, the mid-Atlantic region, Arizona and elsewhere reflect the compelling economic and climate benefits of solar power.
But the action isn’t just taking place on the coasts: solar advocates would be wise not to overlook the growing solar project pipeline and escalating deployment in the Midwest.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel on the roof of Shedd Aquarium
The fact is, the Midwest is undergoing a somewhat quiet but significant transition to renewable energy. Chicago made a commitment to 100% renewables in April, while Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Madison, Wisconsin, joined the list of hundreds of cities eliminating fossil fuels from their energy portfolio. Just last week, Mayor John Hamilton of Bloomington, Indiana, announced the city could procure up to 14% of its power from solar by the end of 2017.
Many Midwesterners across the political spectrum understand that the enormous job market created by embracing renewables is an opportunity worth seizing. Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley reminded the country of that when he told President Trump earlier this year that any attempt to take away tax incentives for renewable energy would happen “over my dead body.”
When we dig more into specific states, Illinois and Minnesota stand out as two hotbeds for solar and renewables in the Midwest.
After passing the Future Jobs Energy Act at the end of 2016, Illinois positioned itself to become a more significant player on the national solar scene. The state’s new solar renewable energy credit (SREC) program promotes the development of solar and wind, with an emphasis on community solar and brownfield development. The bill, which reaffirmed the state’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS) at 25% by 2030, is expected to result in the development of nearly 3 GW of solar. On the back of this, the Illinois Power Agency issued a request for proposal for wind and solar this summer. Part of the RFP encourages the use of solar to develop underutilized brownfields, an option commonly seen in cities that are unsure of how to put contaminated land back into use.
No less impressive is Minnesota’s booming community solar sector. During the first quarter of 2017, the state ranked fourth in solar installations in the country, according to the U.S. Solar Market Insight Report from GTM Research and SEIA. A big reason for this impressive accomplishment is the state’s community solar policy, arguably the best in the country. Minnesota also has a solar energy standard, which states investor-owned utilities must get 1.5% of their power from solar by 2020.
Midwestern colleges and universities are also participating in the region’s solar expansion. The University of Notre Dame, Michigan State University, University of Michigan, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and University of Toledo all have decent-sized solar systems installed or under construction. When completed later this year by Inovateus and our partners, MSU’s 13 MW solar carport project will become the largest PV carport installation in North America and provide 5% of the campus’ power needs.
The Midwest may be labeled flyover country, but the sun isn’t picky about where it shines. As more people become aware of the numerous benefits of solar, the Midwest will continue to swell its solar capacity and reap the rewards of cleaner air and cheaper electricity for its residents.
By Tim Powers, strategic research manager, Inovateus Solar
