We Energies pushes back coal plant retirement: Company saddles customers with at least another year of expensive, less reliable coal

Just weeks after gaining approval to build one of the state’s largest gas plant projects to meet AI data center demand, We Energies announced it is delaying retirement of its Oak Creek coal plant for the third time. The move will push costs higher for Wisconsinites, since coal is one of the most expensive ways to produce energy in our state—far more expensive than wind or solar.

“This is a company that time and time again has taken a shortsighted, profit-driven approach to energy production and planning, and its customers are paying for it. We Energies has once again failed to plan for the future, failed to appropriately invest in cheaper clean energy sources, and failed to keep costs down for Wisconsinites,” says Clean Wisconsin Energy and Air Manager Ciaran Gallagher. “We Energies is going back on promises it made to communities long burdened by toxic air emissions from that plant.”

We Energies claims the decision is in response to elevated risks of power supply shortages in the Midwest, which Gallagher says are overblown.

“We know that a diverse portfolio of solar, wind, battery storage and demand response is the best way to support a resilient grid. This is just another harmful decision from the state’s largest, most profitable energy company,” she says.

In 2020, We Energies announced it would begin closing the plant in 2023. That date was later pushed back to 2025. The company now claims it will close the plant in 2026.

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.