WEC Energy Group has agreed to acquire an 80% ownership interest in the 250-MW Maple Flats Solar Energy Center in Clay County, Illinois, for approximately $360 million.
Developed by sustainable energy solutions company Invenergy, the Maple Flats project will have 800,000 solar panels installed across 1,500 acres of land and is expected to commission in early 2024.
This will be the first solar project under WEC Energy’s Infrastructure segment. The company has eight major wind farms with total capacity of more than 1.5 gigawatts under its portfolio of investments.
"The Maple Flats project demonstrates the growing opportunities for our Infrastructure business as we continue to invest in the production of affordable, reliable and clean energy,” Gale Klappa, Executive Chairman of WEC Energy, said in a statement. “This project will help meet the energy needs of one of the largest companies in the world and further diversify our portfolio of renewable assets."
Investment in the Maple Flats project is expected to be eligible for Production Tax Credits under the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act.
Renewable energy generated by the solar facility will be sold under a long-term power purchase agreement with a Fortune 100 company.
Milwaukee-based WEC Energy Group owns utilities providing power to 4.6 million customers in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota. The company's principal utilities are We Energies, Wisconsin Public Service, Peoples Gas, North Shore Gas, Michigan Gas Utilities, Minnesota Energy Resources and Upper Michigan Energy Resources.
Another major subsidiary, We Power, designs, builds and owns electric generating plants. In addition, WEC Infrastructure LLC owns a growing fleet of renewable generation facilities in the Midwest.
