South Dakota’s solar electricity generation to surge 3,600% in 2023 with new Fall River facility.

Solar electricity generation in South Dakota is expected to increase by approximately 3,600% in 2023 compared to 2022, largely due to the addition of a single utility-scale solar power plant, the Fall River Solar facility in Fall River, South Dakota. The facility, which came online in September 2023, generated nearly 1.3% of the state’s electricity in September and around 1% in October. In October, approximately 14 GWh of South Dakota’s electricity originated from solar sources, with 96.5% of this being generated from the Fall river facility. The Wild Springs Solar facility, owned by National Grid Renewables, is set to come online in April 2024, more than doubling the state’s solar capacity over the previous year. This growth is significant as South Dakota currently derives less than 16% of its electricity from coal and gas. However, challenges remain to integrate this new solar capacity into the overall generation mix.