Wisconsin Utilities Expand Renewable Investments as Community Solar Debate Continues

05 November 2026

Wisconsin's utilities are accelerating plans to expand solar, wind and battery storage projects across the state, even as a legislative battle plays out over community solar and who controls the energy transition.

WEC Energy and Madison Gas & Electric announced plans to add an additional 1.265 gigawatts of solar power to their generation fleets over the next three years. This follows earlier filings with the Public Service Commission for nearly $2 billion in renewable projects, including 500 megawatts of solar, 180 megawatts of wind and 100 megawatts of battery storage.

"We're seeing a rapid acceleration of clean energy investments by Wisconsin's largest utilities, with big new projects in the pipeline and a near-doubling in planned solar and storage development over the last year alone," says Daniel Friedrich, director of clean energy advocacy group Renew Wisconsin. "The question is how much of this capacity will be utility-controlled versus what can be opened up to local developers and customers."

Hurdles to Third-Party Solar

That question is front and center in a growing legislative face-off over community solar. Current Wisconsin law restricts shared solar to utilities only. But Senate Bill 559, introduced in October, would allow limited third-party development of community solar projects for the next decade with a statewide cap of 1.75 gigawatts.

The legislation also includes provisions meant to placate utilities, such as limiting the size of community projects to 5 megawatts and requiring subscribers to still pay their utility a monthly fee. After four years, the bill calls for a legislative study on the program's impact.

"The big question is whether non-subscribers should pay via their power bills to support the solar credits for subscribers," Friedrich says. "Utilities are saying yes, clean energy advocates say the benefits like reduced emissions and grid reliability from distributed generation outweigh the costs. We'll see how legislators balance those conflicting arguments."

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Utilities Seek Higher Rates

Meanwhile, the justification for the massive utility-scale investments is expected to show up in rising power bills. We Energies announced last month it expects residential electric rates to rise 9.25% in 2027 and 5.5% in 2028, citing new solar, wind, storage and natural gas projects that will add $230 million in costs through 2028.

WEC Energy Group has increased its planned renewable generation and battery-storage investments by $1.1 billion, with 3,100 megawatts of solar and 3,450 megawatts of storage planned for 2027–2031. Alliant Energy is also planning over $5 billion in energy storage and renewable investments through 2031.

Siting Control Debate Erupts

But as these projects roll out, the debate over local control in the energy transition is also intensifying. A recent proposal, Senate Bill 3, would require wind and solar projects to first receive municipal approval before going to the Public Service Commission for a siting permit. Utilities and developers quickly opposed the bill, while environmental groups cautioned against over-complicating the permitting process.

Control Under Construction

"There's no question that Wisconsin's utilities are laying the groundwork for a major expansion of solar, wind and storage projects in the years ahead, with billions of dollars in new capacity coming online," Friedrich says. "But the push for community solar is really the key question for whether customers will have a choice in how and where their clean energy comes from. Without a viable third-party option, those decisions will be made by the utilities almost by default."