Supporting Solar in Wisconsin

Wisconsin-grown clean energy

Solar farms are a critical step on the path to American energy independence, providing a clean, efficient way to power Wisconsin homes and businesses. When paired with battery storage, solar can bring reliable, Wisconsin-grown energy to our communities 24 hours-a day.

Featured Solar Project Proposal in Wisconsin

Whitewater Solar

Whitewater Solar will bring clean energy and local economic benefits to Jefferson and Walworth Counties by:

Generating $900,000 annually for local communities hosting the project.

Creating hundreds of jobs during construction and about 2-4 permanent jobs.

Producing enough clean energy to power 21,500 homes.

Whitewater Solar is a 180-megawatt (MW) solar project proposed near the City of Whitewater and Township of Cold Spring in Jefferson County, and the townships of Whitewater and LaGrange in Walworth County.

Facts About Solar

Solar energy isn’t just about fighting climate change. It’s about preserving Wisconsin’s family farms, strengthening local communities, protecting our lakes and streams, and restoring vital habitat.

Funds for Local Communities

Under state law, local governments hosting a utility-owned solar project or a developer-owned solar project over 50 megawatts (MW) receive $5,000 per megawatt every year from the state’s utility aid fund. Large solar farms can generate millions of dollars a year to help host communities meet urgent needs like investing in municipal buildings, repairing roads, and buying emergency response equipment.

Peace of Mind for Family Farms

Solar farms provide a reliable, drought-resistant revenue stream for our family farms. This steady income means Wisconsin farmers are less vulnerable to fluctuations in market prices, uncertain trade regimes, and changing weather patterns, helping family farm stay on the land.

Improving the Surrounding Environment

Integrating solar into conventional farmland can restore soil health, provide habitat for native pollinators and improve water quality by reducing sediment and fertilizer runoff into nearby waterways.

According to Clean Wisconsin’s Solar Farm Impact Analysis:

Solar farms that replace conventional row crops like corn and soybeans reduce sediment and phosphorus pollution runoff into nearby lakes, rivers and streams by 75-95%.
When deep-rooted, perennial vegetation is planted among the panels, solar farms increase soil carbon sequestration by 65%, and improve overall soil health.
Planting perennial vegetation among the panels also improves wildlife habitat compared to existing cropland, including a 300% improvement in habitat quality for pollinators, which are in steep decline.
Solar farms produce 100 times more net energy per acre than corn grown for ethanol and are a far more efficient use of land. To meet net-zero carbon emissions, Wisconsin only needs about 200,000 acres of land for solar, or about 15% of the 1.5 million acres of land currently devoted to ethanol production in our state.

Health Benefits

Every kWh of electricity generated from solar actually saves Wisconsin money because of reduced public health costs. Replacing coal and gas burning power plants with clean solar energy results in public health benefits of 5-10 cents per kWh. This savings exceeds the cost of generating solar electricity (3-4 cents per kWh).

Learn More

Under the Lens: Environmental benefits of solar farms extend beyond cleaner air

Public health experts say that speeding up the transition to renewable energy is the most important action we can take to combat climate change. The public health benefits of reduced air pollution through solar generation are huge, but they're not the only benefits that solar projects are bringing to Wisconsin. Agricultural land, much of which has been overused and its soil depleted of essential nutrients, is also benefiting in big ways.

Analysis: Solar farms produce 100 times more energy per acre than corn ethanol

There is a concern that we’re going to take too much farmland out of production to site solar panels, but we’re already using a lot of land to harvest energy in the form of corn ethanol. This analysis demonstrates how, with solar, we can harvest more energy using far less land.

Three Big Things

Wisconsin needs more renewable energy on the grid. Much more. And we need it fast. While the transition to clean energy is achievable, it’s no surprise that Wisconsin must drastically pick up the pace. Based on the latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, we’ve only installed about 3% of the solar capacity needed by 2050.