Energy Action Paper - Midwestern Governors Association

Solar accounts for less than 0.01 percent of total electric generation in the Midwest.
However, its use has also been expanding. The entire Midwest can generate electricity from
photovoltaics (PV), and portions
Midwestern Solar PV Resources
of Kansas have sufficient solar
resources for concentrating
Solar PV Resource
Potential
solar power. In 2010, the
(kWh/m 2 /day)
average installed cost of PV
2.2-3.5
was around $6 per watt. This
3.5-4.0
price is higher than wind- or
4.0-4.5
fossil-based generation.
4.5-5.0
5.0-5.5
However, costs have dropped
5.5-6.0
by almost 40 percent over the
6.0-6.5
6.5-7.0
past decade, and some have
PV Installation
projected these cost reductions
to continue. 14
Source: World Resources Institute’s Power Almanac of the American Midwest
In addition, the
Midwest also has
tens of thousands of
megawatts of untapped
combined heat and
power (CHP) resources.
Conventional electricity
generation wastes twothirds
of the input fuel's
energy potential during
combustion Even the most
efficient combined-cycle
natural gas power plants
waste about one-half of the
energy it consumes.
Midwestern Installed Midwestern CHP Installed and Technical CHP and Potential CHP
Technical Potential per State, CHP per 2010 State (2010)
Source: ICF International, Combined Heat and Power Installation Database; Hedman, 2010
10,000
CHP CHP Capacity Capacity (MW) (MW)
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
0
IL MI OH WI IN MN MO IA KS
IL MI OH WI IN MN MO IA KS
Total Remaining CHP CHP Technical Potential Potential (MW)
(MW)
Total Installed CHP CHP Capacity (MW) (MW)
Source: ICF International, Combined Heat and Power Installation Database; Hedman, 2010
13
U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Annual. Net Generation by State, by Type of Producer, by Energy Source
14
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Tracking the Sun IV: An Historical Summary of the Installed Cost of Photovoltaics in the
United States from 1998 to 2010. LBNL-5047E. September 2011.
10