News

We Energies has been named recipient of the 2025 ReliabilityOne® Award for outstanding reliability performance in the Upper Midwest.

The award is given to utilities that have excelled in delivering the most reliable electric service to their customers. The recognition, which is based on performance for the year 2024, is presented by PA Consulting.

“This award is a testament to the skill and dedication of our employees, and to the investments we’ve made and work we do every day to ensure reliable service for our customers,” said Mike Hooper, President — We Energies.

We Energies has made investments in the grid to improve performance and recovery from storms. The company is upgrading aging systems, burying hundreds of miles of power lines, adding high-tech equipment that reduces the impact of power outages, and trimming back branches and removing trees along thousands of miles of power lines. These investments are helping to modernize the company’s delivery systems, reduce operating costs and improve energy efficiency.

Alliant Energy has announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Manu Asthana as a new Independent Director, effective February 23, 2026.  

Asthana, 52, brings nearly three decades of leadership experience across the energy and financial services sectors, with deep expertise in electric and gas markets, grid operations, power generation and trading, risk management, retail energy, customer solutions and enterprise strategy. He most recently served as President and CEO of PJM Interconnection, the largest power grid operator in North America. 

“We are pleased to welcome Manu to Alliant Energy’s Board of Directors,” said Patrick Allen, Independent Board Chair of Alliant Energy. “Manu brings deep expertise in the utility industry, grid operations and energy markets, having led large, complex organizations within the sector. His perspective and experience will strengthen the Board’s collective ability to guide the company’s long-term strategy and support long-term growth for the customers and communities Alliant Energy serves.”

Xcel Energy employees, contractors and retirees, supported by the company’s Foundation, provided over $14 million and tens of thousands of volunteer hours in 2025 to support charitable organizations and causes.

Throughout the year, they embraced opportunities to donate their time and act on a shared commitment to making a difference in their communities, volunteering nearly 60,000 hours. The Foundation expanded its giving impact this year by investing nearly $5 million in grant funding to 400 nonprofit organizations across its eight-state service area. These grant recipients align with the Foundation’s three primary focus areas: STEM career pathways, community vitality and environmental sustainability.

The company’s 2025 Day of Service engaged 2,900 volunteers who committed nearly 8,900 hours to support 99 nonprofit projects. Among the many other impacts of these projects, volunteers packed 81,600 meals for hunger relief efforts in local communities and assembled 6,600 kits to support teachers and students during the school year. The Power Your Purpose Giving Campaign raised nearly $2.8 million to support 1,400 organizations.

Construction on the Whispering Willow North Battery Energy Storage System” (BESS) project in Franklin County, Iowa, is underway. According to Alliant Energy, installation of the electrical conduits and concrete foundations is underway for the 75-MW BESS. This critical first step is required to safely interconnect and then operate the BESS for about 20 years.

“Battery storage systems are essential to meeting growing energy demand, boosting the reliability of the grid,” said Dave Herkert, AVP of Strategic Projects at Alliant Energy. “By storing excess energy and releasing it to the grid during times of need, battery storage plays a critical part of our long-term plan to expand capacity and maintain reliability while keeping customer bills as low as possible.”

The project, located at the intersection of Eagle Avenue and 170^th Street in Latimer within Franklin County, will be constructed on a portion of a site that’s just over 9 acres, just south of Alliant Energy's existing substation. Construction involves civil preparation of the site, installation of equipment foundations, battery containers, power conversion systems, and related equipment, wiring, and conduit to support their function. Auxiliary transformers, switchboards, light poles and perimeter fencing will also be installed before the BESS is placed into operation in late 2026.

The state Public Service Commission has approved the WE Energies purchase of four large wind, solar and battery projects totaling over 450 megawatts.

(The four projects approved by the commission will provide more than 450 megawatts of energy, according to We Energies, or enough to power around 150,000 homes. We Energies expects the projects to come online in 2027 and 2028.)

Two of the projects include the 200-megawatt Ursa Solar Park in Columbia County and Wood County's 150-megawatt Saratoga Solar Energy Center. The Wood County facility will also include a 50-megawatt battery storage plant.

The commission also approved the Whitetail Wind Farm in Grant County and the Badger Hollow Wind Farm in Iowa and Grant counties. These facilities will provide up to 185 megawatts.

We Energies will own the majority of each facility. The rest is split between Madison Gas & Electric and the Wisconsin Public Service Corporation, another subsidiary of We Energies.

“The new projects will serve customers year-round and are expected to provide customers millions of dollars in fuel cost and federal tax credit savings," according to We Energies’ President, Mike Hooper.

The Board of Directors of WEC Energy Group has announced that it is planning to raise the quarterly dividend on the company's common stock to 95.25 cents per share in the first quarter of 2026. This would represent an increase of 6.0 cents per share, or 6.7 percent.

The directors expect to declare the new dividend at their regularly scheduled meeting in January. The dividend — which would be equivalent to an annual rate of $3.81 per share — would be payable March 1, 2026, to stockholders of record on February 13, 2026.

"The board's review today is consistent with our ongoing plan targeting a dividend payout ratio of 65 to 70 percent of earnings," said Scott Lauber, president and CEO. "The projected dividend for 2026 is in line with the company's objective to grow the dividend at a 6.5 to 7 percent compound annual rate."

In addition, the company introduced earnings guidance for 2026. “Calendar year 2026 earnings are expected to be in a range of $5.51 to $5.61 per share, which is consistent with our short-term projected EPS growth guidance. Our long-term EPS growth over the next five years is projected to be 7 to 8 percent on a compound annual basis,” he said.

Governor Tony Evers has announced that he has appointed John W. Miller to serve as Secretary and CEO of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, effective December 15, 2025. The position became vacant after former secretary-CEO Missy Hughes resigned earlier this fall to pursue a campaign for governor. 

Miller previously worked in public service for Wisconsin’s 4th Congressional District, later led his family’s agricultural equipment company Miller-St. Nazianz Inc., and founded Arenberg Holdings, a Milwaukee venture capital firm. He holds a law degree from the University of Wisconsin and has served on several nonprofit and community boards.

Xcel Energy crews safely restored power to customers after a winter storm with heavy, wet snow and high winds swept across northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in late November, creating widespread outages and damage to trees, poles and power lines. About 14,000 customers were affected, mainly in Manitowish Waters and Hayward, Wisconsin areas and Ironwood, Michigan.

Madison Gas and Electric has filed a joint application with State regulators to add more than 85 megawatts (MW) of solar capacity and 18 MW of battery storage to its generation portfolio.

These projects represent the latest investments in MGE's efforts to continue reducing carbon as quickly and cost-effectively as possible.

The company said, “With our current plans, by 2030, it will have added more than 40 renewable generation and battery storage projects since 2015, totaling more than 750 MW, propelling the company toward its goal of net-zero carbon electricity by 2050.”

Several solar projects have been proposed, approved, or completed in central Wisconsin. The arrays cover hundreds of acres of former farm, prairie, and forest land with hundreds of thousands of roughly 17-square-foot modular photovoltaic panels with the capacity to produce electricity for tens of thousands of homes.

Here is a summary of the current status of these projects:

Vista Sands Solar Farm

Developer: Doral Renewables

Location:  town of Plover, town of Grant, and village of Plover in Portage County

Project area: 9,500 acres

Generation capacity: 1.2 gigawatts, equal to the demand of 200,000 average Wisconsin homes

Construction start date: second quarter 2026

Date of activation: by the end of 2028

Annual payment in lieu of property taxes to local governments: $6.5 million total − town of Plover: $758,767, town of Grant: $1,955,633, town of Buena Vista: $140,400 and Portage County: $3,712,800

When completed, the Vista Sands Solar Farm project will be the largest solar array project in Wisconsin and among the largest in the country. Solar farm development is anticipated to take 56 high capacity wells out of normal operation and will greatly reduce the estimated 3 million pounds of fertilizer and 73,000 gallons of insecticide currently spread across the project area every year.

Saratoga Solar

Developer: Invenergy

Contracted purchaser: We Energies

Location: town of Saratoga in Wood County

Project area: 825 acres

Generation capacity: 150.5 megawatts, or 28,000 Wisconsin homes

Construction start date: spring 2026

Date of activation: spring 2028

Annual payment to local governments: $602,000 total − town of Saratoga: $250,833 and Wood County: $351,167

The Saratoga Solar project is a mirrored version of a project completed in 2022 on an adjacent property. Work to prepare the project site is underway, including pouring foundations and working with local officials on an emergency response plan, with construction set to begin in spring 2026, according to an Invenergy spokesperson.

Invenergy has completed 12 energy projects across eight counties in Wisconsin with an inventory of generation units including natural gas, energy storage, solar and wind, according to an Invenergy spokesperson. These projects contribute more than $20.8 million annually in local revenue and land costs across the state.

Wood County Solar

Developer: Alliant Energy

Location: Town of Saratoga

Project area: 1,200 acres

Generation capacity: 150 megawatts, or 40,000 homes

Construction start date: July 2021

Date of activation: late summer 2022

Annual payment to local governments: $600,000 total − town of Saratoga: $250,000 and Wood County: $350,000

Wood County Solar was the first of the two utility-scale solar projects in the town of Saratoga for which former Kansas-based developer Savion received initial approvals from the Public Service Commission before Alliant and Invenergy acquired each project.

Portage Solar

Developer: Geronimo Power (formerly National Grid Renewables)

Contracted purchaser: Microsoft

Location: towns of Grant and Plover in Portage County

Project area: 2,167 acres

Generation capacity: 250 megawatts

Construction start date: April 14, 2025

Date of activation: late 2026

Annual payment to local governments: $1 million total − town of Grant: $75,000, town of Plover: $341,667 and Portage County: $583,332

The Portage Solar project received its initial approval in April 2023. The company has announced a power purchase agreement with Microsoft. The company also days about $1.25 million to be committed over the first 20 years of the project’s life to a “community charity fund,” which will support local nonprofit groups and community initiatives.

Wautoma Solar Project

Developer: Alliant Energy

Location: city of Wautoma and town of Dakota in Waushara County

Project area: 624 acres

Generation capacity: 99 megawatts, or 26,000 homes

Construction start date: July 2022

Date of activation: December 2023

Annual payment to local governments: about $400,000 split between town of Dakota, city of Wautoma and Waushara County

The Wautoma Solar project was completed by Alliant Energy in December 2023 as a part of the company’s “Clean Energy Blueprint.” The initiative led to construction of 12 utility-scale solar projects built by the utility company in recent years including the first array in the town of Saratoga in Wood County.