Three utilities have received approval from Wisconsin utility regulators to buy the state’s largest renewable energy plant.

The Public Service Commission has approved the $649 million purchase of the Koshkonong Solar Energy Center by We Energies, Wisconsin Public Service, and Madison Gas and Electric.

Introduced and tested in 2019, Solo-Driver Plus was used on a construction project for the first time in its history. The patent-pending foundation installation method installed 80 caisson foundations to support new steel structures for transmission line rebuild project in Adams and Waushara counties.

Set up and driving takes minutes to accomplish with Solo-Driver Plus with very little ground disturbance, making it faster and more environmentally friendly than traditional installation methods.  After the launch of the initial Solo-Driver design in 2015, a team of engineers focused on evolution of the excavator installed caisson concept.  Solo-Driver Plus’s “H” design provided ATC the opportunity to improve drivability and corrosion resistance as well as simplify fabrication, potentially reducing associated costs.  A second variation was also developed and initially tested that has the potential to be used on more heavily loaded structures.

Xcel Energy has powered down its Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant to allow it to more quickly perform the repairs needed to permanently resolve a leak of water containing tritium at the plant. The company does not anticipate any impacts to customers’ electric service from powering the plant down early.

“While the leak has continued to pose no risk to the public or the environment, we determined the best course of action is to power down the plant and perform the permanent repairs immediately,” said Chris Clark, president of Xcel Energy–Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. “We are continuing to work with and inform our state, federal, city and county leaders in the process.”

A Madison Gas and subsidiary has announced that its newest wind farm is fully operational and delivering cost-effective, carbon-free energy to the electric grid. MGE owns 9.1 megawatts (MW) of the 92-MW wind farm in the Grant County towns of Clifton and Wingville.
 
“This is an exciting time for MGE as the Red Barn Wind Farm begins to generate cost-effective, carbon-free electricity to benefit all our electric customers,” said Jeff Keebler, MGE Chairman, President and CEO. “Red Barn is another important step in our ongoing transition to a more sustainable energy future. We are working aggressively to reduce our carbon emissions at least 80% from 2005 levels by the end of this decade and achieve net-zero carbon electricity by 2050. We have said since announcing our net-zero goal, if we can go further faster through partnerships with our customers and the evolution of new technologies, we will—and we are.”
 
Located on about 10,000 acres and consisting of 28 turbines, the Red Barn facility is expected to generate enough energy to serve about 50,000 households annually. MGE's share is expected to serve about 5,000 households each year.

Xcel Energy has signed an agreement with the Saint Paul Port Authority to build a new service center in northeast St. Paul that will allow the company to meet the needs of its customers and employees for many years to come.

The 20-acre property is in The Heights, a new development on the site of the former Hillcrest Golf Course. The purchase agreement follows an extensive search for a larger site to replace the Rice Street Service Center, which has helped Xcel Energy serve its customers reliably for a century but does not meet the company’s future operational needs.

The Board of Directors of WEC Energy has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 78 cents per share on the company's common stock.

The dividend is payable June 1, 2023, to stockholders of record on May 12, 2023. This marks the 323^rd consecutive quarter — dating back to 1942 — that the company will have paid a dividend to its stockholders.

WEC Energy Group has reported first-quarter 2023 earnings of $1.61 per share. However, the bottom line declined 10.1 percent from the year-ago quarter, down from $1.79 per share.

Operating revenues were $2 ,888.1 million. The top line also declined 0.69 percent from $2,908.1million in the year-ago quarter.

• First quarter GAAP diluted earnings per share were $0.76 in 2023 compared with $0.70 in 2022.
• Xcel Energy reaffirms 2023 EPS guidance of $3.30 to $3.40.

Xcel Energy has reported 2023 first quarter GAAP and ongoing earnings of $418 million, or $0.76 per share, compared with $380 million, or $0.70 per share in the same period in 2022.

Earnings reflect recovery of electric and natural gas infrastructure investment and other regulatory outcomes, partially offset by higher depreciation, operating and maintenance (O&M) expenses and interest charges.

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville has received state approval to construct a 2.4 megawatt solar array in Memorial Park. This will be the largest solar array owned by a Wisconsin state agency and will make the university the sixth-highest on-site producer of renewable energy among higher education institutions in the nation, setting UW-Platteville apart as a leader in its commitment to renewable energy.

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Initial construction on a new Alliant Energy solar energy field is wrapping up. The company says the new West Riverside Energy Center is operating smoothly and serving hundreds of thousands of customers. Bob Newell, Senior Manager of Strategic Projects, said the 4-megawatt solar energy field in the Town of Beloit is expected to be fully operational by March. Newell said the auxiliary power produced by the solar panels will boost the main natural gas-fired plant’s overall productivity.

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Environmental and solar activists Sierra Club and Vote Solar are suing Wisconsin regulators over approval of an electric rate freeze for Madison Gas and Electric customers that they say discriminates against low-income customers and discourages investment in energy efficiency and rooftop solar. The Dane County Circuit Court has been asked to review the Public Service Commission’s approval of a one-year rate structure negotiated between the utility, consumer advocates and UW-Madison.

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UW University System Regent José Delgado has died. Delgado was creator of the American Transmission Company and served as its initial President and CEO.

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