Wisconsin’s first 100+ megawatt (MW) wind energy project in more than a decade is seeking approval from the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC). Badger Hollow Wind has been in development for nearly 10 years, and if approved, it would mark a major step forward in Wisconsin’s energy future. The PSC is accepting public comments on this project now through June 26.

This is your chance to tell the PSC why you support the approval of more wind energy in Wisconsin! Badger Hollow Wind isn’t just about the energy it will produce. The 118 MW facility in Iowa and Grant Counties has many benefits:

• Economic Growth: Badger Hollow Wind will create hundreds of jobs during construction as well as good-paying, long-term operations and maintenance positions. It will also produce affordable and reliable clean energy for Wisconsin residents. It is expected that this project will produce $3.2 million in additional economic activity in Wisconsin.

• Community Benefits: The Badger Hollow Wind developer, Invenergy, has been a good community partner, supporting student programs at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and schools in Iowa and Grant Counties. They’ve also donated to local emergency services and food banks, and more. Once in service, Badger Hollow Wind will contribute more than $500,000 in utility-aid payments each year. Over $300,000 of this will go to Grant and Iowa Counties, and over $200,000 of this will go to the towns of Clifton, Eden, Linden, Mifflin, and Wingville.

• Landowner Engagement: Invenergy is a good partner to landowners, respecting their property rights and regularly checking in with them to ensure their relationships are positive. Payments to landowners help farmers directly, but Invenergy goes the extra mile by building access roads to turbines that farmers can use for their operations.

• Environmental Responsibility: Badger Hollow Wind has undergone thorough environmental studies to minimize impact. It will contribute to cleaner air and water and support a healthier Wisconsin. RENEW’s witness estimated that the Badger Hollow Wind will displace fossil fuel generation and avoid over 250,000 tons of CO2 in the first year of operations alone.

Submit your comments today and tell the PSC you support the approval of Badger Hollow Wind. Feel free to use some of the bullet points above to craft your own unique message.

Earlier this month, Executive Director Sam Dunaiski informed the RENEW Board and staff that he has decided to step away from the organization to make way for new leadership to guide RENEW’s next chapter. We appreciate the careful thought that went into this decision and are grateful for Sam’s years of service to the organization, as well as his steadfast support of the renewable energy industry.

Sam remains a passionate supporter of RENEW and our mission, and he is working with staff and the RENEW Board to ensure we are positioned for success in the coming months. Transitions bring change and also create space for new opportunities. Our team remains committed to advancing renewable energy across the state, and we are strategically preparing to meet the challenges and seize the potential of tomorrow.

Sam’s last day with RENEW will be Friday, June 6. To maintain operational stability, RENEW’s Deputy Director, Jodi Jean Amble, will serve as Interim Executive Director while the Board and staff work to identify RENEW’s next leader.

Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,
RENEW Wisconsin

Earlier this week, the House of Representatives passed its version of H.R. 1, the reconciliation package, by a slim majority. The bill now moves to the Senate, where we have another opportunity to advocate for and protect clean energy.

Solar and storage are an American success story, supporting thousands of good jobs, millions in energy savings, and a surging manufacturing sector. However, Congress is considering cutting policies that support this success, threatening billions invested in our communities. This includes harsh restrictions on tax credits while gutting others, or quickly phasing them out.

As it stands, the legislation before Congress falls short of the policies necessary to help the U.S. meet its growing energy demand, create jobs, and continue the successful build-out of the solar and storage supply chain here in the U.S.

We invite you to join us in this effort and urge Congress to defend American energy incentives and protect the economic engine that clean energy has created. In the last two years, American solar and storage have surged. In that time, American-made solar module manufacturing has grown six times.

Solar installations can now provide enough homegrown energy to power more than 40 million homes. This expanding industry also means jobs that pay people well. The solar and storage industry already supports over 280,000 good jobs, many of them right here in Wisconsin.

We already know that solar energy is affordable, abundant, and easy to deploy. So, as America works to meet the rising energy demands of AI, data centers, and advanced manufacturing, clean energy and energy storage are critical to keeping energy bills in check and maintaining our economic competitiveness.

This is a critical moment, and we cannot afford to slow our progress now. We need to double down on clean energy for our economy, our communities, and our children.

Tell your representative to protect American solar and energy storage!

The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin has approved the Maple Grove Solar project, a 260-megawatt (MW) project with a 50 MW battery which will be located in Barron County, Wisconsin. Commissioned by ibV Energy Partners, this project will produce enough energy to power more than 30,000 homes.

Along with getting us another step closer to our decarbonization goals, Maple Grove Solar will produce significant economic benefits for the surrounding area. During its construction phase, an estimated 608 jobs — 286 of them being local — will be created. Upon completion, the project will support just under 30 long-term jobs with 18 of them being local. In addition, the county and towns that host this project will receive a $1.3 million boost in new yearly tax revenue.

RENEW Wisconsin staff have advocated for the project since it was proposed. Our policy team provided expert testimony and analysis in support of the project, which helped the PSC reach their decision. While sharing the reasoning behind their decision, PSC Commissioner Kristy Nieto directly referenced RENEW staff testimony.

RENEW’s testimony highlighted the various economic advantages of the project along with the benefits for farmers, expected emissions reductions, and general health.

• Projects like this help to keep farms with families thanks to diversified revenue from the land leases
• More than 400,000 short tons of carbon emissions will be avoided in the first year of the project’s operation
• The reduction of emissions can limit additional strain on the rural healthcare system by reducing pollutant-related illnesses

The construction of Maple Grove Solar is expected to be completed sometime in 2029.

At its November 7 open meeting, the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) took up rate increase proposals from both WE Energies and WPS utilities. The PSC either authorized or provided minor modifications to the utilities’ proposed plans for future costs, financials, and rate increases. A Wisconsin Public Radio article summarizes the results and reactions to the PSC’s decisions.

RENEW participated as a party in these rate cases and concentrated our efforts on utility policies, programs, and pricing that influence clean energy adoption for its customers. Although the PSC authorized some significant rate increases, it also authorized clean technology improvements that RENEW proposed and supported in these cases.

As it relates to WE Energies, RENEW has been working to eliminate the utility’s requirement to install two meters for its net energy metering customers, a cost-prohibitive requirement for people considering rooftop solar. WE Energies initially proposed allowing single bidirectional metering no sooner than January 1, 2026. RENEW pushed back on this implementation date, requesting a January 1, 2025 implementation date. The PSC ultimately authorized a compromise of June 1, 2025.

For both WE Energies and WPS utilities, RENEW also proposed an increase to the threshold for commercial customers to install larger “behind-the-meter” (BTM) distributed generation (DG), which, in many cases, is rooftop solar. RENEW proposed an increase from the current 1,000 kilowatts (kW) maximum to 5,000 kW, which is in line with other Wisconsin utilities as well as federal guidance. Although the utilities disagreed with RENEW’s proposal, the PSC ultimately agreed with RENEW and required these utilities to increase their commercial BTM offerings up to 5,000 kW by 2025, allowing commercial customers to increase their energy independence through clean energy. 

Vote Solar also provided testimony regarding utility-avoided costs in relation to more equitable pricing for these larger commercial DG systems, which RENEW supported. While the PSC did not authorize pricing changes in these rate cases, it agreed to investigate these issues further in separate cases in the future.

We also saw changes with the EV pilot program and the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) smart thermostat program for both WE Energies and WPS utilities. In the Electric Vehicle rate case, RENEW supported several changes to benefit EV owners.

• Increasing a bill credit cap for home charging beyond the initial proposal
• Allowing customers to own their charging equipment 
• Utility collaboration on developing a model for a multifamily dwelling EV charging program
• Maintaining an EV charging rate of 50 kW to ensure the businesses can access a bill credit

The PSC kept the new home charging bill credit at its initially suggested rate of 400kWh and increased the threshold for businesses to access a bill credit to 150kW, going against our recommendations. The PSC did, however, approve the use of customer-owned charging equipment and the need for utilities to develop a model for EV charging at multifamily dwellings, like apartment buildings.

For the BYOD potion of the rate cases, WE Energies requested that their program be identical to Madison Gas and Electric’s original BYOD program with a participation cap of 7,000 devices (or homes). These programs allow utilities to connect to thermostats and adjust temperatures to lower energy use during periods of high use. These programs help save energy, control costs, and help reduce emissions.

RENEW requested a higher participant cap in the smart thermostat program due to We Energies and WPS’s larger customer base. We also asked for increased collaboration to explore future technologies, an earlier implementation date for these programs, and data reporting on participation and savings. The PSC raised the cap to 64,000 participants for WE Energies and 24,000 for WPS, mandated collaboration with RENEW to explore future technologies and ordered data reporting as requested. The PSC set the implementation date for these programs for January 2026 instead of moving up the deadline to the summer of 2025 as suggested by RENEW.

All in all, RENEW staff were able to achieve some focused and notable victories in these cases! Below is a summary of these clean technology policy improvements that will occur starting in 2025:

Applicable to WE Energies and WPS:

• Large BTM DG systems are currently limited to 1,000 kW, but after RENEW’s testimony and recommendations the PSC will increase to 5,000 kW systems
• PSC will take up several utility-avoided cost issues in new dockets
• PSC authorized new BYOD smart thermostat pilot programs
• PSC authorized improvements to both residential and commercial EV charging programs

Specific to WE Energies:

• PSC authorized a compromise for bidirectional metering for net energy metering customers, with an implementation date of June 1, 2025.

The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) has approved the Vista Sands solar project at its full size of 1.3 gigawatts. The impact of this decision is difficult to overstate, as this project alone will reduce the carbon emissions of our state’s electric sector by nearly 5 percent. This would mean the removal of 1.7 million short tons of carbon emissions each year by producing enough solar energy to power nearly 250,000 typical Wisconsin homes.

The project also has significant economic benefits and is expected to create about 2,200 jobs during the construction period along with 165 long-term jobs. In all the project is estimated to increase Wisconsin’s long-term economic output by more than $50 million. Local governments within the project area will also benefit from annual utility aid payments of $6.5 million through the course of the project’s life.

RENEW Wisconsin staff and our supporters have advocated for the project since it was proposed by the developer, Doral Renewables, LLC. Our policy team provided expert testimony and analysis in support of the project, which helped the PSC reach their decision to approve it. In their decision on Thursday, December 12, the PSC affirmed the collaborative efforts of the developer as it navigated competing opinions surrounding the project.

The project was at risk of being subjected to half-mile setbacks from the Buena Vista Wildlife Area, which would have significantly reduced its size and put the economics of the project in jeopardy. The request for the setback came out of concern for the greater prairie chicken, a threatened species of bird.

RENEW recognizes the need for balance as we work to meet our decarbonization goals and we agree with the PSC that the Doral provided robust collaboration with the many parties interested in the project and surrounding area. Around 90 percent of the project is located more than half a mile from the wildlife area and the developer has set aside additional habitat for greater prairie chicken populations. The developer also eliminated most of the above-ground transmission in their plan, will install bird diverters on fencing, and will fund the maintenance of existing conservation land.

Now that it’s approved, the project is expected to break ground in the spring of next year with an estimated completion date of December 2028. This project sets a new bar for future solar installations across the state.