Solar power in South Dakota facts for kids
Solar power in South Dakota means using energy from the sun to make electricity. South Dakota has a lot of sunshine, which gives it great potential for solar energy. However, not much solar power is actually used there right now. In 2015, South Dakota was last among U.S. states in how much solar power was installed. There were no very large solar farms or big business solar systems.
Even so, solar panels on rooftops could provide a lot of the electricity used in South Dakota. Experts believe these panels could create almost 39% of the state's power. South Dakota is ranked 14th in the country for its potential to use solar power. It's even higher, 4th, for its potential to use wind power.
One important rule for solar power is called net metering. This rule lets people with solar panels send any extra electricity they make back to the power grid. When they do this, they get credit on their electricity bill. Federal law says that states should offer net metering. But South Dakota is one of only four states that does not have a statewide rule for it. This means that people who want to use net metering have to talk directly with their local power company to arrange it.
A new solar project was planned for Pierre. It was expected to start making power in 2017. This project cost about $2 million and covered an area of 5 acres.
How Much Sun Does South Dakota Get?
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The chart on the right shows how many hours of sunshine per day Sioux Falls, South Dakota, gets on average throughout the year. As you can see, the summer months like June and July have the most sun, while winter months like December and January have the least. On average, Sioux Falls gets about 4.84 hours of sun each day. This amount of sunshine is good for making solar power.
Growth of Solar Power in South Dakota
The table below shows how much solar power capacity has been connected to the electricity grid in South Dakota over the years. "Capacity" means the maximum amount of electricity that solar panels can produce. "Installed" means how much new solar power was added in that year.
| Grid-Connected PV Capacity (MW) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Capacity | Installed | % Change |
| 2010 | <0.1 | ||
| 2011 | <0.1 | ||
| 2012 | <0.1 | ||
| 2013 | <0.1 | ||
| 2014 | 0.22 | 0.21 | |
| 2015 | 0.24 | 0.02 | 9% |
| 2016 | 1.34 | 1.1 | 458% |
| 2017 | 1.36 | 0.02 | 1% |
| 2018 | 1.39 | 0.03 | 2% |
| 2019 | 1.44 | 0.05 | 4% |
| 2020 | 1.8 | 0.36 | 25% |
| 2021 | 2 | 0.2 | % |
| 2022 | 3 | 1 | % |
As you can see from the table, South Dakota started with very little solar power capacity. For several years, it was less than 0.1 megawatts (MW). A megawatt is a lot of power, enough for hundreds of homes!
In 2014, the capacity grew to 0.22 MW. The biggest jump happened in 2016, when the state added 1.1 MW of solar power. This was a huge increase of 458% compared to the year before. By 2022, the total solar capacity reached 3 MW. This shows that while South Dakota still has a long way to go to use its full solar potential, it is slowly adding more solar energy.
