Nick Fetty | August 18, 2014

Solar energy use in the Iowa is expected to rise in coming years and much of it can be attributed to decreased installation and equipment costs.

The cost to produce energy using solar panels has deceased from 21.4 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in 2010 to 11.2 cents per kWh in 2013. The U.S. Department of Energy hopes this decreases to 6 cents per kWh by 2020 which is when solar energy is expected to become the world’s most inexpensive form of energy.

The Iowa Department of Revenue has awarded $ 1,280,243 in Iowa Solar Energy System Tax Credits in 2014. This is nearly double the 2012 figure of $ 650,914. A report by the Iowa Environmental Council ranks Iowa 16th nationally for potential of solar energy production and estimates that 20 percent of the state’s annual electricity needs could be met using rooftop solar grids.

Critics of solar power say the source’s reliability can be intermittent depending on sunlight availability and in California an increase in the number of solar plants has been detrimental for bird species in the state.

Iowa’s largest solar farm – expected to produce enough energy to power 120 homes – opened in Johnson County last month.