Largest solar park in Wisconsin completed, Badger Hollow Solar

Construction of the largest solar facility in Wisconsin, The Badger Hollow Solar Park, has been completed. Located in Iowa County, the 300 MW plant has been under construction for just under four years now. The facility was, however, a year behind schedule due to various supply chain issues. It will generate power for approximately 90,000 homes when operating at full capacity. The Badger Hollow Plant is made up of 830,000 solar panels that pivot to track the sun. The panels have photovoltaic cells on both sides. This allows them to capture direct sunlight as well as light reflected from the ground.

Badger Hollow Solar Construction phases

The Badger Hollow Plant was constructed in two phases. The first phase involved putting together 150MW and began operation in 2021. It involved nearly 500,000 solar panels spread across 1,100 acres of land. Additionally, this phase is jointly owned by Wisconsin Public Service Corp and Madison Gas and Electric who purchased the rights and electrical tie in line for approximately US$389.7 million. The second phase, recently completed, is the first of three We Energies solar projects. We Energies and Madison Gas and Electric purchased the remaining 150 MW for nearly US$194.9 million in 2020. Moreover, the facility will require 17 full-time staff as part of the project application materials.

The project team

The construction and ownership team include Wisconsin Public Service Corporation, Wisconsin Electric Power Company, and Madison Gas and Electric. Each of these companies own 100 MW of the facility. During the first year of operation of the Badger Hollow Phase 1, 192 GWh was generated, approximately 0.3% of the total 2020 electricity generated in the whole state.

“The completion of Badger Hollow is another step in our ongoing transition to greater use of cost-effective, carbon-free, renewable energy to serve all MGE electric customers. By 2030, we expect every MGE electric customer will have 80% fewer carbon emissions from their electricity use simply by being an MGE customer as we work toward our goal of net-zero carbon electricity,” said Jeff Keebler, the CEO of MG&E.

Two Creeks Solar

The Badger Hollow Solar Park is the second utility-scale solar plant that has been approved and constructed in the state, the first being Two Creeks Solar Park, a 150 MW facility located in Manitowoc County. WPS and MG&E also purchased this facility during the acquisition of the first phase of the Badger Hollow Solar Park. What’s more, the Two Creeks Solar Park has nearly 533,000 photovoltaic panels on single axis tracking systems. It is spread across 800 acres of land.

Construction of the facility begun in August 2019 and was competed in November 2020 at a cost of US$195 million. It only requires three full-time employees as part of the project application materials. The facility is also eligible for the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC). The ITC is normalized over the 30-year life of the project as required by the IRS.