We Energies backs $446M Darien solar farm in latest green-energy project

Utilities We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service plan to develop a $446 million solar farm and battery-storage project in Rock and Walworth counties after announcing plans to advance another major renewable-energy project last month.

WEC Energy Group, the parent company of We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service, plans to acquire the Darien Energy Center, which could include a 225-megawatt solar array and a 75-megawatt battery-storage project. The utility in February said it would buy the $426 million Paris Solar Farm, which calls for the construction of a 200-megawatt solar array and a 110-megawatt battery storage project.

“For the second time this year, we are demonstrating our commitment to a clean energy future with a major investment in renewable energy,” said Tom Metcalfe, president of We Energies and WPS, in a statement. “Not only will these projects maintain reliability and deliver significant savings, building these facilities in Wisconsin will create green jobs and help drive the state’s economy.”

The projects are part of the utility’s plan to spend $2 billion on renewable-energy projects through 2025. Meanwhile, the utility last fall said it would retire 1,800 megawatts of fossil fuel generation in the next five years by closing part of its coal-fired plant in Oak Creek. Those plans are part of the utility’s goal to reduce carbon emissions by 55% by 2025 and 70% by 2030.

WEC Energy Group plans to seek approval for the Darien Energy Center project from the Wisconsin Public Service Commission. The project is expected to take up more than 2,000 acres in the town of Bradford in Rock County and the town of Darien in Walworth County. The project is expected to generate about $1 million in shared revenue for the two towns.

The project is being developed by Chicago-based Invenergy, which also developed the Paris Solar Farm. Invenergy filed plans for the project with the PSC last summer. We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service Corp. would own 90% of the project, and Madison Gas and Electric would own 10% of the solar array and battery-storage project.

Like the Paris Solar Farm, the Darien Energy Center would couple solar energy generation with a large-scale battery storage project to store solar energy. The 110-megawatt battery storage project proposed for the Paris project would be the largest of its kind in the state.

If regulators sign off on the project, construction on it could begin late this year. The project is expected to go into service in 2023. Follow @natebeck9