We Energies announces major expansion plan to strengthen Wisconsin’s power grid

MILWAUKEE — We Energies has filed plans with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin to add nearly 3 gigawatts of new energy capacity to the state’s power grid.

This expansion includes a significant amount of new renewable energy and battery storage, as well as additional modern natural gas facilities. All the plants will be built in Wisconsin.

These projects are designed to support economic growth and job creation by serving data centers and other customers’ energy needs.

The renewable energy facilities will send clean energy to the grid every day while the proposed natural gas plants will be run when needed — primarily during peak demand — to ensure customers aren’t left in the dark.

Additionally, these energy plants will strengthen Wisconsin’s power grid and boost energy security for customers across the state by adding thousands of megawatts of locally produced electricity.

Fairness for all customers

Under We Energies’ customer protection plan, data centers will pay the full share of the power they consume, along with the costs of the power generation plants and distribution facilities built to serve them. Residential and business customers will not subsidize the power needs of the data centers.

“These new power plants reflect our commitment to reliability, economic growth and putting our customers first,” said Mike Hooper, president — We Energies. “The addition of new power generation projects will energize Wisconsin’s workforce. Together, these plants and the data centers they power will create thousands of construction jobs and hundreds of full-time high-tech and energy careers. And under our customer protection plan, we’re making sure costs to serve new data centers are not shifted to other customers.”

Nearly 3 gigawatts of new power plants planned

We Energies filed plans to build seven solar projects, one battery storage project and two modern natural gas plants. The company also filed plans to make upgrades to current power facilities to support reliability.

This new energy capacity will serve planned data centers and other customer growth. The mix of renewable energy and low-carbon power plants will ensure the lights stay on for all customers.

The solar and battery storage projects are expected to qualify for federal tax credits, saving all customers hundreds of millions of dollars in long-term costs.

Data centers paying their fair share

Under the We Energies customer protection plan, data centers are required to pay for the power plant capacity built to meet their needs. They also will pay directly for the energy they use, as well as for the poles, wires and other distribution facilities constructed to serve them.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.