Did you know? Wisconsin has enough wind blow across our land every year to power the state four times over. We can harness this free, natural, and renewable resource to run our economy.
Wind energy in Wisconsin means low-cost power, jobs for construction workers, financial benefits to local communities and farmers, and a supply chain of Wisconsin companies building parts for projects all over the country.
Number of Wind Turbines
Installed Wind Capacity (MW)
Equivalent Number of Homes Powered by Wind
Active Manufacturing Facilities In State
Wind Farms
After a prolonged absence from Wisconsin, wind developers are starting to come back to the Badger State with a desire to build projects. We support wind development in Wisconsin and are engaged in educating communities on its many benefits.
Clean Energy Transmission
To maximize the usage of wind energy in Wisconsin and the Midwest, we need to make sure new wind farms can get their renewable electricity to the grid. Clean energy transmission lines connect our energy consumers with wind energy that can increasingly power our future. Two regional “MVP” (Multi-Value Portfolio) Projects support this wind expansion for Wisconsin: Cardinal Hickory Creek and Badger Coulee.
Supporting Cost-Effective Projects
Wind energy is a cost-effective resource ready to compete against any other form of new power generation. We support cost-effective utility proposals to expand wind energy in Wisconsin and in surrounding states that will benefit Wisconsinites.
Renewable Portfolio Standard
The first major expansion of wind in Wisconsin was driven by the 10% renewable portfolio standard, which RENEW was a key champion and advocate for in the mid-2000s. Passed in 2006, this law lead to nearly 650 megawatts of wind in Wisconsin, an investment of nearly $1.3 billion.
Wind Siting Law
In 2009, we worked to pass the Wind Siting Law which now governs large wind projects above 100 megawatts through a formal, science-based process at the Public Service Commission.
Case Study
Quilt Block Wind Farm
Quilt Block Wind Farm has an installed capacity of 98 megawatts (MW) — enough to power approximately 25,000 average Wisconsin homes with clean energy each year.
Case Study
Forward Wind Energy Center
The Forward Wind Energy Center, in Dodge and Fond du Lac Counties, consists of 86 General Electric 1.5 SLE Wind turbines.
Case Study
April Smith
April Smith has been working construction in Wisconsin for six years. She lives in Middleton with her husband, an ironworker, and three children. Last spring, April started working construction on the Quilt Block Wind Farm.
Case Study
Brodie Dockendorf
Brodie grew up in New Hampton, a small town in northeastern Iowa. After high school, he worked in construction for eight years, including masonry work and servicing forklifts and cranes. Then he caught sight of his first wind turbine.
Case Study
Tim Parker
From April to September in 2017 Tim operated a bulldozer during construction of the Quilt Block Wind Farm, a 98-megawatt wind farm in Lafayette Country owned by EDP Renewables.
Case Study
Scott Glendenning
Last April, when construction on the Quilt Block wind project got underway just outside of Darlington, Scott Glendenning’s concrete business, BARD Materials, had a big role to play.
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