The Badger Hollow solar facility is located approximately 19.3km west of Dodgeville, near the villages of Montfort and Cobb, in Iowa County, Wisconsin
MGE secures approval for Badger Hollow II in Wisconsin. (Credit: Pixabay/Jukka Niittymaa)
Madison Gas and Electric (MGE), a subsidiary of MGE Energy, has secured preliminary approval from the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin to own an additional 50MW of the Badger Hollow solar farm, known as Badger Hollow II.
The Badger Hollow facility is located approximately 12miles (19.3km) west of Dodgeville, near the villages of Montfort and Cobb, in Iowa County, southwestern Wisconsin.
The second phase of the project is expected to be completed by 2021.
Badger Hollow is a 300MW solar farm located in southwestern Wisconsin
The 300MW solar energy project is being developed by the Chicago-based renewable energy company Invenergy. MGE has secured the regulatory approval to own 50MW of the initial phase of the Badger Hollow solar farm in 2019.
The solar power project will power up to 77,100 homes when fully operational and offset 37,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year.
MGE is engaged in generating and distributing electricity to its customers in Dane County, along with buying and distributing natural gas in seven counties south-central and western Wisconsin.
MGE said that it has set net-zero carbon electricity targets for the year 2050, and has been making efforts to reduce a minimum of 40% carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 2030, compared to 2005 levels.
MGE chairman, president and CEO Jeff Keebler said: “The addition of this cost-effective, locally generated solar energy for all customers will build on the progress we’ve already made toward our goal of net-zero carbon electricity by 2050.
“It also will help MGE manage long-term costs for our customers as we continue to grow our use of renewable energy and drive carbon out of our energy supply mix.”