Developers have broken ground on three major We Energies projects as power demand from artificial intelligence data centers grows.
We Energies announced Aug. 4 that construction began for three clean energy projects that combined can power around 100,000 homes. They include a $443 million solar and battery project in Rock County, $355 million wind farm in Iowa and Grant counties, and $106 million battery storage facility in Walworth County.
About half of each facility’s capacity will serve the $15 billion Port Washington data center project run by Vantage Data Centers, Oracle and OpenAI. Under the terms of We Energies’ new data center electric rate, the tech companies must cover an equivalent portion of construction costs.
Chicago-based developer Invenergy will build the power plants before selling them to three utility companies. We Energies will own a majority of each facility, with the rest split between Madison Gas and Electric and the Wisconsin Public Service Corporation.
All three projects were approved by the state Public Service Commission. They will create around 450 construction jobs, We Energies says.
The facilities come as statewide energy demand is expected to rise 40% by 2032. Large data centers like the Port Washington and Mount Pleasant campuses are responsible for most of the increase, according to estimates from state regulators.
In response, We Energies parent company WEC Energy Group is eyeing $20 billion in new energy investments over the next few years. We Energies has designated several other new solar, wind and natural gas projects as resources for data centers, some of which are still waiting approval.
“These renewable energy projects are part of our strategy to strengthen reliability through a balanced mix of Wisconsin-based energy sources, including renewables and state-of-the-art natural gas plants,” We Energies President Mike Hooper said in a statement Aug. 4.
The proposed natural gas-fired plants include a 1.1-gigawatt facility in Kenosha County and a 342-megawatt project in Walworth County, both built by Invenergy. They total $2.3 billion and are pending PSC approval.
Residents and environmental advocates voiced opposition to the plants at public hearings in July, saying they serve a few tech giants at the expense of public health.
We Energies says it has more than three gigawatts of solar and wind projects and 600 megawatts of battery storage in service, under construction or pending PSC approval.
Francesca Pica can be reached at fpica@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: We Energies starts new renewable energy plants to serve data centers
Reporting by Francesca Pica, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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By Francesca Pica, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
