Solmar Insights
We Energies has broken ground on three significant energy assets across Wisconsin, blending solar, wind, and utility-scale storage to strengthen grid stability during peak demand. The Darien Battery Storage (75 MW), Dawn Harvest Solar and Battery Park (150 MW solar plus 50 MW storage), and the Badger Hollow Wind Energy Center (110 MW) were all approved by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin and are being constructed in partnership with Invenergy.
Key figures
75 MW battery storage at Darien
150 MW solar plus 50 MW storage at Dawn Harvest
110 MW wind at Badger Hollow
Project locations and scale
The new projects are geographically distributed across three counties. The Darien Battery Storage facility, located in Walworth County, is a 75 MW battery system sited at the Darien Solar and Battery Park, which already features a 250 MW solar installation online since 2025. In Rock County, the Dawn Harvest Solar and Battery Park extends We Energies’ portfolio with 150 MW of solar paired with 50 MW of batteries. The Badger Hollow Wind Energy Center, in Iowa and Grant counties, will add 110 MW of wind capacity.
This multi-technology portfolio offers a combined capacity of over 385 MW of new generation and storage, directly contributing to Wisconsin’s resource adequacy planning and meeting increasing electricity demand.
The strategic placement of these assets allows We Energies to optimize grid support, leveraging solar and wind intermittency across broader geographic and meteorological zones.
Ownership and development structure
We Energies will serve as the majority owner in all three projects. Co-ownership is shared by Wisconsin Public Service (WPS) and Madison Gas and Electric (MGE), aligning regional utilities under a consolidated development and operational model. The projects are developed and constructed by Invenergy, a national developer specializing in utility-scale wind, solar, and storage projects.
Invenergy’s ongoing involvement leverages their project execution capacity and established presence in Wisconsin. Their senior vice president of development emphasized the importance of advancing these assets during a period of growing load and stressed the direct economic benefits, including new jobs and consistent local revenue streams, resulting from project construction and operation.
The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin’s approvals, which preceded groundbreaking, underscore a regulatory environment attuned to accelerating renewable and storage asset deployment.
Grid reliability and operational role
All three developments are framed by We Energies as essential to supporting grid reliability during periods of peak demand. The Darien Battery Storage installation, in particular, will absorb excess generation from the adjacent solar array and discharge power during times of shortfall or stress, increasing the site’s overall capacity factor and value to the grid.
The Dawn Harvest Solar and Battery Park incorporates battery storage directly with solar, providing firmed renewable power and better alignment with load peaks. The integration of a significant wind asset at Badger Hollow allows the portfolio to deliver complementary renewable output profiles, reducing variability at the system level.
Including over 600 MW of battery storage in We Energies’ pipeline, as reported, signals the utility’s emphasis on flexible, dispatchable resources to match the variability of renewables and system needs in MISO.
Market significance and future outlook
The projects contribute to We Energies’ broader clean energy buildout, which includes more than 3,000 MW of solar and wind plants in service, under construction, or in regulatory review. The decision to combine utility-scale storage with both new generation sites underscores a trend in the Upper Midwest toward hybrid resource deployments for improved grid economics and resiliency.
As Wisconsin’s electricity demand grows, buildout of in-state renewable and storage assets reduces reliance on fossil peaking plants and imported power, which could help stabilize capacity costs over the long term. Union-first hiring provisions further suggest substantial workforce and local procurement impacts during the construction phase.
The collaboration among We Energies, WPS, and MGE reflects a regionally coordinated build strategy and signals continued investment by investor-owned utilities in non-traditional assets, advancing both sustainability goals and resource adequacy commitments.
Development mechanics and regulatory context
Project permitting from the Public Service Commission provided the statutory go-ahead before ground was broken across all three sites, streamlining the timeline from regulatory review to construction start. The aggregation of solar, wind, and battery projects under joint ownership simplifies development risk and offers scale economies in procurement, interconnection, and workforce deployment.
All projects are developed by Invenergy, facilitating consistency in execution and ongoing operations. The mix of solar plus battery and stand-alone wind reflects the current regulatory and market incentives in Wisconsin for hybrid and renewable projects capable of providing resource adequacy and grid support.
What this means for buyers
These new grid-scale renewables and storage assets from We Energies indicate growing opportunities for flexible offtake and firmed capacity in the Upper Midwest. Institutional buyers and power providers should note the role of joint ownership, advanced storage, and regulatory certainty in accelerating project timelines. Expanded battery deployment may offer new participation avenues for demand management and ancillary services. The combination of utility, labor, and developer partnerships continues to support reliable clean power as regional load rises.
