PSC Approves Muddy Creek Solar Project

PSC Approves Muddy Creek Solar Project

by | May 14, 2026 | Public Service Commission, RENEW Wisconsin, Solar, Utility Scale

On Thursday, May 14, the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin approved Muddy Creek Solar, a 322 Megawatt (MW) solar project paired with a 300 MW battery energy storage system. Developed by Geronimo Power, the project is expected to provide nearly $2 million in annual utility aid payments to local municipalities.

Geronimo Power has also shown its commitment to supporting the community that will host the project by pledging an annual $75,000 donation to local school districts. Through a Charitable Pledge Agreement, the Menomonie Area School District and the Elk Mound Area School District will receive $12,500 and $62,500, respectively, for 20 years after the project begins operations.

In addition to the direct cash benefit to local municipalities, the project is expected to create more than 800 temporary jobs during construction and more than 50 long-term jobs. Also important to consider is the direct payments to landowners who have leased their land for the life of this project.

This project shows that clean energy projects can bolster our local economies, provide our state with the energy it needs, and reduce our carbon emissions from energy generation.

In total, we expect this project to reduce emissions by 954 million pounds of CO2, the equivalent of removing 94,000 gas-powered vehicles from our roads. And that’s just the CO2.

Thanks to the reduction of CO2 and the several other greenhouse gases that fossil fuels would pump into the air we breathe, Wisconsin can expect more than $2 million in economic benefits associated with public health improvements in Muddy Creek Solar’s first year of operations alone.

This solar and battery project will provide many things Wisconsin needs—jobs, reliable energy, consistent income for landowners, more funding for our schools and local governments, and cleaner air. And when the project reaches the end of its life, the land can be returned to its prior use, whether that be agricultural, recreational, or some other purpose.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to share their support for this much-needed energy project. Together, we can transform how Wisconsin is powered.

PSC Approves WPPI’s Bring Your Own Device Demand Response Program

PSC Approves WPPI’s Bring Your Own Device Demand Response Program

by | May 12, 2026 | Public Service Commission, RENEW Wisconsin

On April 23, 2026, the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) unanimously approved the Village of Waunakee’s application to establish a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) demand response program, administered by WPPI Energy on behalf of its member utilities. The decision is a win for Wisconsin customers and a meaningful step forward for demand response across the state’s municipal utility sector.

RENEW Wisconsin submitted public comments in support of the application, and we are excited to see the program move forward.

What the Program Does

The BYOD program allows residential and general service customers to voluntarily enroll their own smart thermostats and receive a one-time enrollment credit of $25 and an annual participation incentive of $25. During summer peak events, WPPI’s platform provider, EnergyHub, will remotely adjust thermostat settings to reduce air conditioning load.

What the PSC Decided

The commission approved the program as a permanent offering rather than a pilot, a distinction that Commissioner Kristy Nieto walked through carefully during the hearing. The logic is straightforward: this program design is not new. MG&E and We Energies have already been running nearly identical programs successfully in Wisconsin, and putting every new adopter of a proven model through a pilot phase does not serve any particular purpose. RENEW made this same point in our comments, and we are glad the commission agreed.

The PSC also added reporting requirements to track program performance and cost-benefit outcomes, and delegated authority to the Division Administrator to approve future identical applications from other WPPI members without requiring full commission review each time.

A Win for Bill Credits

One of the more substantive conversations at the hearing centered on how customers receive their participation incentives. The application proposed offering either a gift card or a bill credit, with the utility choosing at the start of each season.

In our comments, RENEW made the case for bill credits on two levels: the payment format and its recurrence over time.

On format, RENEW offered that a credit on a customer’s utility bill makes the connection between their participation and their energy costs visible in a way a gift card does not. When someone opens their bill and sees a line item tied to a demand response event, it reinforces what the program is doing and what they contributed. A gift card can feel entirely disconnected from the energy of the relationship.

On structure, RENEW recommended that WPPI look beyond the current flat annual payment toward a continuous monthly bill credit as the program matures. A one-time $25 credit is easy to forget by the time the season ends. A credit that shows up month after month keeps the connection alive and creates a natural incentive to stay enrolled on the days the program needs participants most. We are already seeing this approach work: both We Energies’ EV program and Alliant Energy’s demand response program have monthly bill-credit structures that generate strong interest precisely because customers can see and track what they receive.

RENEW also raised a longer-term question about whether a flat $25 annual payment actually reflects what customers are contributing. If a customer reduces their energy use on the hottest, most stressful days of the year when the grid needs it most, that contribution has real value, and the incentive structure should eventually reflect that. Alliant Energy’s residential demand response program offers a useful model. Instead of a flat annual payment, customers earn a credit for every kilowatt-hour they reduce during a peak event, and they receive a follow-up email showing exactly how much they cut and how much they earned. That kind of structure, where your credit reflects what you actually contributed rather than just the fact that you enrolled, is where RENEW would like to see programs like this head over time.

That argument resonated with the commission. Commissioner Hawkins specifically cited RENEW’s comments, noting that the visible connection between a customer’s actions and their bill is what makes a program like this meaningful. The commission required bill credits as the default, with a narrow exception if a utility can demonstrate they are not technically feasible, with a requirement to notify the commission in that event. 

The approved incentive structure maintains the current $25 annual payment for now, which RENEW understands to be a practical starting point for a program that is new to WPPI and its members. The bigger takeaway is that the commission is aligned on the principle that customers should be able to see the value of their participation directly on their bill. 

Step One of Something Larger

RENEW is enthusiastic about this program, however, it is not the ceiling of what is possible. EnergyHub’s platform already supports thermostats, batteries, electric vehicles, and commercial and industrial loads within a single system. WPPI is starting this pilot with a vendor that is already built for where demand response is heading.

In our comments, we encouraged WPPI to treat this program as the foundation for something more ambitious over time: virtual power plant-style programs that aggregate distributed energy resources across a broader customer base, bill credits tied to actual measured demand reduction rather than flat annual payments, and eventually vehicle-to-grid and vehicle-to-load participation as EV adoption grows in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin has significant untapped demand response potential, and this program is a real step toward unlocking it. We look forward to seeing what WPPI and its member utilities build from here.

PSC Critizes, Modifies, and Approves Alliant Energy Data Center Contract

PSC Critizes, Modifies, and Approves Alliant Energy Data Center Contract

by | May 7, 2026 | Advocacy, Community, Public Service Commission, RENEW Wisconsin

On Thursday, May 7, the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) approved Alliant Energy’s contract with Meta regarding their data center in Beaver Dam, but not before criticizing their lack of transparency and significantly modifying the contract. Modifications included safeguards requiring the utility to cover transmission costs and to address the potential for underpayments from the data center.

The PSC was clear today in its decision regarding Alliant Energy’s contract with Meta—Wisconsin utilities must be more transparent about their relationships with data centers and ensure that not a single cent of the costs of powering data centers is passed on to Wisconsin families and small businesses.

“I want it to be clear that whether you’re a large load customer coming in to Wisconsin for the first time or a regulated entity familiar with our process, transparency, and by that I mean actual and real transparency, is a foundational expectation and a necessity,” Commissioner Summer Strand said. “Frankly, transparency is quite often mutually beneficial, and I don’t think it needs to be this difficult, so I was a little disappointed, and initially, it was like pulling teeth here to increase the transparency.”

We are encouraged by the PSC signaling that they want utilities not only to place greater emphasis on transparency, but also to have a Very Large Customer tariff that is the same for each data center in their territory. This makes it easier to ensure that each data center pays the same and that all of them pay their own way in Wisconsin.

Though we would have preferred a rejection of this contract today, there was a clear win. As it should be, the PSC is ensuring it is easy for us to verify that data centers are paying for their own energy and infrastructure.

We also encouraged the PSC to be proactive in urging data centers to invest in clean energy technology, especially emerging or cutting-edge technologies. These new neighbors have the resources to spur growth in the world of renewables, and if they intend to be responsible neighbors, they will help us expand our renewable energy footprint rather than stall our progress in combating climate change.

No More Kings: Let’s Build the Future While the Administration is Distracted

No More Kings: Let’s Build the Future While the Administration is Distracted

by | May 6, 2026 | Advocacy, Community, RENEW Wisconsin

We’ve seen this history play out before.

Just as momentum for clean energy gains ground—projects rising, costs falling—a new decree arrives from above. The return of top-down, centralized energy policy isn’t just a debate; it’s an attempt to rule by rollback. It’s the old guard trying to reclaim power by stalling investment and clouding the future with uncertainty.

But here’s the thing about progress: it doesn’t belong to any single person. It belongs to the people building it on the ground, right here in Wisconsin.

The Decree vs. The Reality

When leadership tries to reign over the energy transition, we, the people, pay the price:

  • Infrastructure is halted by royal red tape.
  • Investment is chased away to more stable lands.
  • Communities lose their independence to volatile, old-world costs.

We aren’t waiting for a coronation or a change of heart in a distant capital. At RENEW Wisconsin, we believe in a self-governing energy future. We move forward because the climate doesn’t care who sits in the Oval Office.

A Revolutionary Act for Your Individual Retirement Account (IRA)

You don’t have to be a spectator in this power struggle. If you are 70½ or older, you have a unique tool to help fund resistance to progress-killing policies: the Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD).

Think of it as a way that you can defund an agenda you don’t support and put those funds directly into the hands of those building the future.

With a QCD, you can:

  • Move IRA funds to RENEW Wisconsin to protect local projects.
  • Avoid increasing your taxable income.
  • Satisfy your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) on your own terms.
  • Ensure your legacy builds local power, not political theater.

Let’s Democratize Energy

You’ve spent a lifetime building your own estate. You know that true stability isn’t granted by a leader—it’s built through hard work and foresight.

The window to act is open, but the gates can be slammed shut by the next administration. Don’t let your hard-earned resources be eroded by shifting political winds. Use a QCD to reinforce the progress we’ve made.

Wisconsin doesn’t answer to kings. We answer to the future we build.

 

Fund the Revolution with a QCD
Utilities Ramping Up Solar Power Build-Out

Utilities Ramping Up Solar Power Build-Out

by | Apr 29, 2026 | RENEW Wisconsin, Renewables, Solar, Utility Scale

But their anticipated output would not be sufficient to serve data center projects in the construction pipeline

*Guest Blog by Michael Vickerman—RENEW Wisconsin Board Member

Construction of large solar power plants in Wisconsin will accelerate throughout the decade, thanks to a series of regulatory approvals handed down over the past 12 months. Indeed, by all appearances, solar power will dominate utility investment in new sources of electric power for the foreseeable future.

In March 2026 alone, the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) approved utility requests to acquire three solar projects—two in Columbia County and one in Rock County—totaling 315 megawatts (MW). When energized over the next two years, these three plants will generate more than 600,000 megawatt-hours of zero-emission electricity annually to customers. That amounts to 0.9% of electricity consumption in the Badger State. 

As shown in Table 1 below, WEC Energy and Madison Gas & Electric will add 1.265 gigawatts, or 1,265 MW, of solar power to their generation fleets over the next three years. Construction is well underway at the Koshkonong and High Noon project sites, and ground will be broken this year on the other solar plants listed in the table.

Construction is also proceeding on a 250 MW solar plant in central Wisconsin owned by Minneapolis-based Geronimo Energy. Anticipated to be placed in service later this year, the Portage Solar plant will produce electricity for the wholesale market and sell the renewable energy credits (RECs) from that generation to Microsoft, which will soon complete construction on a hyperscale data center in Racine County. When activated later this year, Microsoft’s facility will become the largest consumer of electricity in the entire state, with a baseline demand of approximately 500 MW. Microsoft will purchase all of the RECs produced by Portage Solar to offset a portion of that facility’s electricity usage. 

Utility-owned solar generating plants often come paired with battery energy storage systems (BESS) placed within the project boundaries. These installations can store up to four hours of electricity at the battery’s rated capacity. 

At the Koshkonong project, for example, the battery system is designed to accept as much as 660 MWh of electricity generated onsite. These BESS units will enable grid operators to discharge stored electricity directly into the transmission system when demand peaks later in the afternoon and evening. 

In just a handful of years, solar has emerged as the fastest-growing in-state source of electric power, and its contribution to electricity supplies now surpasses wind and hydro combined (see Table 2). Accounting for 6.6% of Wisconsin-generated electricity in 2025, solar generation could reach the 10% threshold by 2030.

Will solar growth be large enough to offset anticipated load growth driven by hyperscale data centers? 

As impressive as solar’s growth was in 2025, it wasn’t large enough to fully offset the increase in electricity consumption that occurred that year. The other generation resource that saw a significant increase in output from 2024 was coal, whose rise came at the expense of fossil methane. Factoring in other hyperscale data centers now under construction, it will be a challenge to offset rising electricity sales with new solar generation.

As applied to retail electricity customers, the term “capacity factor” is a measure of their actual electrical consumption in a year divided by its peak demand multiplied by 8,760, the number of hours in a year. The consensus estimate of a hyperscale data center’s capacity factor falls in the 75% to 80% range. 

Compared with other customer types, hyperscale data centers impose an unprecedented level of demand on the electric grids that serve them, due to the following reasons.

  • Massive scale of operations serving millions of users; 
  • Expansion of AI use is driving the need for high-density computing power;
  • Energy-intensive cooling systems; and
  • Always-on operations requiring uninterruptible electrical service.

With the above in mind, let’s estimate the power consumption from Microsoft’s Mt. Pleasant campus that will commence operations later this year. If we assume a peak load of 500 MW and a capacity factor of 75 to 80%, electricity consumption from this particular entity would range from 3.3 to 3.5 million MWh per year, or 5% of the electricity sales recorded in the entire state of Wisconsin last year. 

It would take six solar plants the size of Koshkonong–1,800 MW in total–to offset, on a MWh by MWh basis, the anticipated consumption from just the Mt. Pleasant data center alone. When the two Beaver Dam and the Port Washington data center projects are brought into the picture, the number of Koshkonong-size projects needed to offset all four hyperscalers in the pipeline would exceed 20. 

Given that, it’s fair to conclude that the data center build-out will elevate greenhouse gas emissions from Wisconsin’s electric power industry even with a robust expansion of in-state solar power. Unless something changes on the ground, this worrisome outcome, and all the unpleasant environmental and economic consequences that it will amplify, is quite literally baked into our future.

About That Hail and Your Solar Panels

About That Hail and Your Solar Panels

by | Apr 29, 2026 | Community, RENEW Wisconsin, Solar

April has been a rough month for much of Wisconsin. Hail, high winds, tornadoes, and heavy rain have rolled through the state, causing real damage. Here in Madison, the storm on April 14 brought baseball-sized hail, almost three inches across!

Other parts of central and southern Wisconsin got even bigger stones. Cars were dented. Roofs were torn up. Siding was cracked. Power poles came down. And yes, some solar panels broke too.

That’s the reality of weather like this. Extreme storms damage what’s in their path, and almost nothing on the outside of a home gets a free pass when hail comes down at that size. If your panels took a hit, they may need to be repaired or replaced. That’s not great news, but it’s also not the end of the world.

If you were thinking about going solar before the storms rolled through, the storms shouldn’t change the math on that decision. The path forward, whether you’re repairing a system or building one for the first time, looks a lot like dealing with any other part of your home.

How to Get Your System Back Up and Running

When panels get damaged in a storm like this, the fix looks a lot like dealing with hail damage to your roof or siding. The process moves through a few clear steps.

Contact Your Homeowner’s Insurance and Your Installer

Both should know what happened as soon as possible. Your installer works directly with the insurance company on your behalf from there. They document the damage, walk the adjuster through what they’re seeing, and handle the repair, replacement, and reinstall. The homeowner isn’t navigating it alone.

Know Your Coverage Before a Storm Hits

Most standard homeowner’s policies cover rooftop solar under the dwelling section, but it’s worth confirming that hail and wind are listed as covered perils and that your coverage limit reflects what your system is actually worth. Some policies in hail-prone areas carry separate wind and hail deductibles, and ground-mounted systems sometimes need a separate rider, so it helps to know what your specific policy says before you need to use it.

The Rest of the System Is Built To Make This Manageable

Manufacturers test their panels to real standards. Installers know how to work with insurance companies. Each part does its job so that when something does go wrong, the path forward is clear.

Your installer can also help you sort out what’s covered by equipment warranties versus insurance, and show you how to use your monitoring app to confirm the system is performing normally after repairs.

What Hail Does to a Panel

Knowing what kind of damage you’re looking at helps you follow along when your installer comes out for an inspection.

  • Visible damage is less common than people expect, but also the most obvious when it happens. Cracks, chips, or spiderwebbed glass that you can spot from the ground. The tempered glass on top of a panel is built to take a hit, which is why this kind of damage usually only shows up in the more extreme storms. Worth noting too: when a panel does break, the glass stays contained inside the panel. Solar panels are sealed between layers of plastic and held together by an aluminum frame, so cracks don’t send glass flying across your yard or your neighbor’s.
  • Hidden microcracks are the ones experts worry about more. These are microscopic fractures inside the solar cells that might not affect performance right away, but can spread over time the same way a small chip in a windshield can grow into a longer crack. Left unchecked, microcracks can gradually reduce efficiency and create hot spots inside the panel. That’s why post-storm inspections matter even when a system seems to be running fine. 
  • Cell and busbar damage happens beneath the surface when hail’s impact energy transfers through the glass. The busbars are the thin metal strips that carry electricity across the panel. Modern panels use many ultra-thin busbars or wires per cell, often well into double digits, which helps keep current flowing even if part of a cell takes a hit.

A cracked panel will usually still generate electricity at reduced output. If it needs to be replaced, it should be replaced. If it’s still performing within spec, it can keep running. The key is having someone qualified take a look so you know what you’re working with.

A Quick Note on the Testing

Quality solar panels are built to two main standards that work together.

  • IEC 61215 is the performance and durability standard set by the International Electrotechnical Commission. It covers how a panel holds up against weather, including the hail impact testing, where technicians fire ice balls at panels using compressed air cannons. The basic test uses one-inch ice balls at high speeds, and many panels are tested even further against ice balls up to three inches across at speeds up to 88 miles per hour. To pass, the panel has to keep producing power within spec after the impact.
  • UL 61730 is the safety standard set by Underwriters Laboratories, which covers electrical safety, fire resistance, and structural integrity. Together, they tell you a panel can take the weather and stay safe doing it.

The Bigger Picture

Everything on the outside of your home already takes a beating from Wisconsin weather. Your roof, your siding, your windows, and the AC unit out back. None of that has stopped anyone from owning a home. You carry insurance for a reason, and when something breaks, you call somebody who knows how to fix it. Solar panels are no different than anything else on your house in that respect.

April has been hard on Wisconsin, no question about it. But the things people depend on after a storm have shown up. Insurance is paying out. Installers are out doing the work. Hail and wind can damage panels. That’s true. What matters is having the right people in your corner and the right coverage in place when it happens. A solid installer and the right insurance policy take care of that.