Solar Energy

MGE's Shared Solar program offers the benefits of locally generated solar power. It's easy, flexible and affordable. MGE currently has two arrays serving Shared Solar participants:

Middleton Municipal Operations Center

• 500-kW array.
• Came online in 2017.

Morey Field Solar

• 6-MW array at the Middleton Municipal Airport.
• A 3.5-MW share of the array is used for the Shared Solar program. The remaining share of the solar array serves the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District and City of Middleton under separate Renewable Energy Rider agreements.
• Came online in 2020.

The 150-MW Two Creeks Solar facility is located in the town of Two Creeks and the city of Two Rivers in Manitowoc County, Wis. 

• MGE owns 50 MW, and Wisconsin Public Service owns 100 MW.
• 500,000 solar panels on about 800 acres.
• MGE's share generates enough electricity to power about 16,500 households.
• Came online in 2020.

MGE partnered with Dane County to build this array on County-owned land adjacent to the Dane County Regional Airport. The project serves Dane County operations as part of a Renewable Energy Rider agreement. 

• Generates enough electricity to provide Dane County with about 40% of the energy used by all County-owned facilities.
• Output is enough to power the equivalent of about 3,000 households.
• About 31,000 solar panels covering 58 acres north of Dane County Regional Airport.
• Came online in 2020.

The 22-MW O'Brien Solar Fields project is located in Fitchburg at Lacy Road and South Seminole Highway. It serves seven MGE customers through separate Renewable Energy Rider (RER) agreements. 

• More than 60,000 solar panels covering approximately 160 acres
• Generates enough electricity to power the equivalent of about 6,300 homes
• Participating RER customers include:
  • The City of Fitchburg
  • Placon
  • Promega Corporation
  • Tribe 9 Foods
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Willy Street Co-op
  • Wisconsin Department of Administration
• Came online in 2021

The 300-MW Badger Hollow Solar Farm is located near the communities of Cobb and Montfort in Iowa County. It is the largest solar project in Wisconsin history. It came online in two 150-MW phases. 

• MGE owns 100 MW, Wisconsin Public Service owns 100 MW and We Energies owns 100 MW.
• MGE's share generates enough electricity to power about 33,000 households.
• Phase one came online in 2021.
• Phase two came online in 2023.

MGE partnered with the City of Madison and the Madison Metropolitan School District to construct this 8-MW solar array located north of Dane County's Rodefeld Landfill in southeast Madison. 

• Serves the City of Madison (5 MW) and the Madison Metropolitan School District (3 MW) under separate Renewable Energy Rider agreements.
• Output is enough to power the equivalent of about 2,560 households.
• Nearly 30,000 solar panels covering 53 acres.
• Came online in 2022.

MGE's Tyto Solar is a 6-MW solar array located in Fitchburg that serves all MGE electric customers as a distributed energy resource. 

• More than 13,000 solar panels covering 45 acres.
• Generates enough energy to power about 1,400 households.
• Came online in 2024.

MGE will own 20 MW of solar energy and 11 MW of battery storage from the 200-MW solar park being built in the town of Paris in Kenosha County. The facility also will include 110 MW of battery storage. We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service, subsidiaries of WEC Energy Group, will own the remaining solar energy and battery storage. 

• Between 550,000 and 750,00 panels covering about 1,500 acres.
• MGE's share of the project is expected to generate enough electricity to power about 6,000 homes.
• The solar is expected online in 2024.
• The battery storage is expected to be completed in 2025.

MGE, in partnership with We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service (both subsidiaries of WEC Energy Group), received approval to purchase energy from the 250-MW solar array to be located in Rock and Walworth counties in southern Wisconsin. MGE will own 25 MW of solar capacity and 7.5 MW of battery storage. 

• Up to 850,000 solar panels covering about 2,000 acres.
• MGE's share of the project is expected to generate enough electricity to power about 7,500 homes.
• The solar is expected online in 2025. The battery storage is expected in 2026.

MGE, in partnership with We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service (both subsidiaries of WEC Energy Group), received approval to purchase energy from the 300-MW solar array to be located in the towns of Christiana and Deerfield in Dane County. MGE will own 30 MW of solar capacity and 16.5 MW of battery storage. 

• Up to 730,000 solar panels covering about 4,600 acres.
• MGE's share of the project is expected to generate enough electricity to power about 9,000 homes.
• The solar is expected online in 2026. The battery storage is expected in 2027.

Construction is underway on Strix Solar, a 6-MW solar array located at the corner of Byrne and Syene roads in Fitchburg. 

• If approved by State regulators, 2 MW are proposed to serve the Shared Solar II program. The remaining 4 MW will serve all MGE electric customers as a distributed energy resource.
• Expected to generate enough energy to power about 1,400 households.
• Expected online in 2024.

Photovoltaic installations owned by MGE, including nearly 500 solar panels at MGE's headquarters in downtown Madison, supply almost 10% of the building's annual electric needs.

MGE, in partnership with We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service (both subsidiaries of WEC Energy Group), is seeking approval from State regulators to purchase a share of the High Noon Solar Energy Center, a 300-MW solar array to be built in the Columbia County communities of Arlington, Hampden, Leeds and Lowville. If approved, MGE's ownership share will be 30 MW of solar capacity and 16.5 MW of battery storage. 

• Application filed with PSCW on Feb. 1, 2024.
• MGE's share of the project is expected to generate enough energy to serve about 9,000 households.
• If approved, the facility is expected to come online in 2027. 

MGE is seeking approval from the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW) to build the Sunnyside Solar Energy Center, a 20-MW solar array and 40-MW battery storage system to be located off of Whalen Road in Fitchburg. 

• Application filed with the PSCW on May 13, 2024.
• The 20 MW of solar capacity is expected to generate enough energy to power about 6,000 households.
• The 40 MW of four-hour battery storage would provide electricity during times when energy demand is greatest and solar and/or wind is insufficient to meet all customer needs.
• If approved, construction could begin in 2025; the solar array could begin serving customers by late 2026, and the battery storage system could be operational in 2027.

MGE, in partnership with We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service (both subsidiaries of WEC Energy Group), is seeking approval from State regulators to purchase a share of the energy generated by the Dawn Harvest Solar Energy Center, a 150-MW solar array and 50-MW battery storage project to be built in Rock County. MGE's ownership share would be 15 MW of solar.

If approved, the solar facility is expected online in 2028. 

MGE, in partnership with We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service (both subsidiaries of WEC Energy Group), is seeking approval from State regulators to purchase a share of the energy generated by the Saratoga Solar Energy Center, a 150-MW solar array and 50-MW battery storage project to be built in Wood County. MGE's ownership share would be 15 MW of solar and 5 MW of battery storage.

If approved, the facility is expected online in 2028.

MGE, in partnership with We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service (both subsidiaries of WEC Energy Group), is seeking approval from State regulators to purchase a share of the energy generated by the Ursa Solar Park, a 200-MW solar array to be built in Columbia County. MGE's ownership share would be 20 MW.

If approved, the facility is expected online in 2027.

MGE, in partnership with We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service (both subsidiaries of WEC Energy Group), is seeking approval from State regulators to purchase a share of the energy generated by the Good Oak Solar Farm, a 98.4-MW solar array to be built in Columbia County. MGE's ownership share would be 9.8 MW.

If approved, the facility is expected to come online in 2028.

MGE, in partnership with We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service (both subsidiaries of WEC Energy Group), is seeking approval from State regulators to purchase a share of the energy generated by the Gristmill Solar Farm, a 67-MW solar array to be built in Columbia County. MGE's ownership share would be 6.7 MW.

If approved, the facility is expected online in 2028.