In short: On the Iowa side of the Quad Cities, Davenport and Bettendorf buy power from MidAmerican Energy at about 11.0¢ per kWh (2024 average, EIA), and solar exports earn the full retail rate. Across the river in Illinois, the same company runs different solar rules. Outages averaged 219 minutes with major storms, 88 without.
This page covers what is specific to Davenport and Bettendorf: MidAmerican’s Iowa rules and how they differ from the Illinois Quad Cities, Scott County’s storm and flood risks, permits and charging. For statewide rules, including the July 1, 2027 date in Iowa’s solar law and the five-year solar property tax exclusion, see our Iowa energy guide.
Quad Cities at a glance
- MidAmerican Energy supplies electricity and gas in Davenport and Bettendorf (MidAmerican community list). Iowa homes paid about 11.0¢ per kWh on average in 2024 (EIA-861).
- MidAmerican outages (2024, Iowa): 219 minutes per customer including major events, 88 without; 1.27 interruptions a year, 0.82 without major events (EIA-861, IEEE method).
- Rural Scott County: Eastern Iowa Light & Power Cooperative serves parts of rural Scott County: about 13.6¢ per kWh, 220 outage minutes with major events and 99 without in 2024. Eldridge has its own city utility (EIA-861).
- Sun: about 3.99 kWh per square meter per day, from 1.5 in December to 6.3 in July (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020). Our rough estimate: about 1,165 kWh a year per kW of panels.
- Top hazards: Scott County rates “relatively moderate” overall, with hail, ice storm, lightning, strong wind and winter weather “relatively high,” and cold wave, drought, heat wave, inland flooding and tornado “relatively moderate” (FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025).
- Public charging: 46 ports at 16 locations in Davenport and 38 ports at 11 locations in Bettendorf (AFDC, October 3, 2026).
Your utility and what it means
- Iowa side, solar billing (inflow/outflow): MidAmerican measures power you take and power you send separately, every 15 minutes. You pay the retail per-kWh rate, including riders, for what you take, and you are credited the same rate for what you send. Extra credits roll forward but expire at the end of the annual billing year you pick (January or April). See MidAmerican’s interconnection and rates page.
- Illinois side, different rules: MidAmerican also serves Moline, Rock Island and East Moline, and there, customers who applied on or after January 1, 2025 are on its Illinois Rate NEM. Delivery charges apply to all the power you take from the grid, and exports earn supply credits only, as kWh or money. Moving across the river changes the solar math. See our Illinois energy guide.
- Getting connected in Iowa: an interconnection application and fee, a MidAmerican review (a transformer upgrade, if needed, is at your cost), then a $125 witness test and a meter change before you may switch on. See MidAmerican’s customer generation page.
- Time-of-use rate (RST): off-peak is 10 p.m. to 8 a.m.; on-peak is 1 to 6 p.m. on summer weekdays, June to September, at a steep premium. MidAmerican fits the meter free, you stay on the rate 12 months, and it checks yearly whether you saved. Details on its time-of-use page.
- Co-op members: Eastern Iowa Light & Power sets its own solar and EV rules; ask it before you sign.
Backup power in the Quad Cities
The Quad Cities sit on the Mississippi, and Davenport treats floodplain building as a separate step: a floodplain development permit is one of the preliminary approvals it may require before a building permit, and the city ran a flood resilience study in 2020 and 2021. If your home is in or near the floodplain, that shapes backup choices. Keep generators, batteries and their wiring above expected flood levels, and ask the city what applies before you install.
Storms are the other driver. Scott County rates “relatively high” for ice storms, lightning, strong wind and winter weather, and MidAmerican’s 2024 outage total more than doubled when major events were counted, to about 3.7 hours. A portable power station covers phones, Wi-Fi and a CPAP. For a sump pump, furnace and fridge through a multi-day outage, look at a natural gas standby generator or a large home battery. Compare them in backup power options and size them with the battery backup calculator or the generator sizing tool.
Safety first: the CPSC says to run portable generators outdoors only, at least 20 feet from the house, never in a garage, with battery-backed CO alarms inside. A transfer switch or interlock must be installed by a licensed electrician (generator installation).
Solar in the Quad Cities
Davenport gets about 1,165 kWh a year per kW of panels by our rough estimate, a little less than Des Moines. At MidAmerican’s 2024 Iowa average of 11.0¢, that is worth about $130 a year per kW, used at home or exported, because Iowa inflow/outflow credits exports at retail. That is an estimate; low prices mean a slower payback than in many states.
Size the system to your own use: banked credits that are not used by your annual reset are lost. And keep the 2027 state review in mind (see the state page). Run your roof through the solar potential tool and the solar savings calculator, and read solar installation and how net metering works.
Batteries in the Quad Cities
Batteries are almost unheard of with Iowa solar so far: neither MidAmerican nor Eastern Iowa Light & Power reported a home solar system with a battery in EIA’s 2024 data. With retail-rate export credits, the case for one here is backup, especially for flood-season sump pumps and ice storms, not savings. We found no utility battery rebate. See home battery installation and home battery cost.
EV charging in the Quad Cities
At about 30 kWh per 100 miles, home charging costs roughly $3.30 per 100 miles at MidAmerican’s 2024 Iowa average (our estimate), less if you charge off-peak on the time-of-use rate. Davenport and Bettendorf have 84 public ports between them (AFDC, October 3, 2026), and MidAmerican runs 100 DC fast chargers across Iowa. A Level 2 charger needs a 240-volt circuit and an electrical permit. See EV charger installation and the EV charging cost calculator.
Drive on another fuel? See every alternative fuel station in Davenport: hydrogen, propane, natural gas, E85 ethanol, biodiesel and renewable diesel.
Permits and inspections
- Davenport: the Building Department at the Davenport Public Works Center (1200 E 46th St, 563-326-7745) issues permits. Its review process page says most homeowner work needs a general building permit, with separate requirements for electrical work, and that preliminary approvals such as zoning, historic or floodplain may come first. Payment is due when you submit.
- Bettendorf: the city’s Building Division handles building and electrical permits and inspection requests.
- Who does the wiring: Iowa licenses electricians and electrical contractors statewide (lookup on the state page). Use a licensed electrician for solar, batteries, transfer switches and chargers.
- Utility and HOA: MidAmerican must approve the interconnection before solar runs. If you have an HOA, get its approval in writing.
Cities we cover
- Davenport
- Bettendorf
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Quad Cities energy FAQ
Who supplies electricity in Davenport and Bettendorf?
MidAmerican Energy, for both electricity and gas. Some rural Scott County homes are on Eastern Iowa Light & Power Cooperative, and Eldridge has its own city utility. Your bill shows which.
Are solar rules the same in Davenport and Moline?
No. In Iowa, MidAmerican credits solar exports at the full retail per-kWh rate under inflow/outflow. In Illinois, new customers since January 1, 2025 are on Rate NEM, which credits exports against supply charges only and bills delivery on all power taken from the grid.
Do I need a floodplain permit for a generator in Davenport?
Possibly. Davenport lists floodplain development permits among the preliminary approvals that some projects need before a building permit. Call the Building Department at 563-326-7745 with your address before you install a standby generator or battery.
Is solar worth it with MidAmerican in the Quad Cities?
It can be, but slowly. By our estimate each kW of panels is worth about $130 a year at MidAmerican’s 2024 Iowa average price. Get several quotes, size to your use so credits don’t expire, and ask for the payback math in writing.
Sources
Utilities, prices, outages and solar counts: U.S. Energy Information Administration, EIA-861 data for 2024. MidAmerican Energy community list, interconnection and rates (Iowa and Illinois), customer generation, time-of-use and fast-charging pages. City of Davenport building and land development review process. City of Bettendorf Building Division. Sun: NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020. Hazards: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Charging: Alternative Fuels Data Center. Generator safety: CPSC. All checked October 3, 2026.