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Released September 02, 2025 | SUGAR LAND
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Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Like many of its electric utility brethren, WEC Energy Group Incorporated (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is increasing its capital program to meet the anticipated surge in electric demand from data centers, advanced manufacturing and the artificial intelligence (AI) industry. However, unlike many of its peer electric utilities, WEC, a holding company with several Midwestern operating electric and gas utilities, is not backing away from a years-long commitment to cease using coal by yearend 2032. It plans to meet future electric demand from large loads customers by constructing renewable generation and battery energy storage systems (BESS), as well as adding some gas-fired generation, company officials said in an investor update last month.
In that August 4 investor update, WEC officials said the company's planned capital expenditures (capex) were expected to total about $28 billion over the five-year period 2025-2029. That's about 39% higher than what it planned to spend its August 2023 investor update, when company officials projected a five-year capex program of approximately $20.1 billion over the 2023-2027 period.
WEC provides electricity and natural gas to about 4.7 million customers in the Upper Midwest states of Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan. It also owns an energy infrastructure unit. WEC also owns 60% of merchant transmission company ATC LLC Incorporated (Waukesha, Wisconsin), formerly known as the American Transmission Company, a transmission-only utility that currently owns, operates and maintains over 10,000 miles of electric power lines in the Upper Midwest.
WEC's capital investment in ATC is expected to total about $3.2 billion over the 2025-2029 period, WEC officials said August 4. In August 2023, WEC's share of ATC's projected capital outlays over a five-year period were about $2 billion. As the nation's transmission buildout accelerates, the capital demands on ATC and WEC have also risen.
Industrial Info is tracking nine active WEC projects valued at about $1.6 billion. WEC's largest outlays are for adding gas-fired generating capacity at the company's Oak Creek and Paris stations as well as decommissioning and demolishing older generating units 5,6,7 and 8 at the Oak Creek station. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can learn more by viewing the related project reports.
IIR also is tracking roughly 49 ATC projects with total investment value of about $3.7 billion. Most of these projects are high-voltage transmission lines, nearly all of which are located in Wisconsin. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the related project reports.
The $28 billion in capital investments that WEC plans to make in its businesses would be the largest five-year capital spend in its history. Nearly half of that sum, about $13.2 billion, will be directed to electric generation, company officials said in their August 4 investor update. Another $4.5 billion will go to the electric distribution utilities it owns while gas utility units are slated to receive about $5.2 billion over the 2025-2029 period.
WEC's electric utility units are expected to add about 1,800 megawatts (MW) of new load through the of 2029. That would work out to a 20% gain in overall electric demand. Over the 2027-2029 period, when several planned data centers are operating, annual electric demand growth will grow 4.5% to 5% per year, the company projected. That's about five times the normal utility load growth before the AI era.
Microsoft Corporation (Redmond, Washington) is building a huge AI-powered data center in a WEC service area, in Mt. Pleasant, Wisconsin, that is scheduled to go live next year. Another very large AI-equipped data center campus, planned for Port Washington, Wisconsin, just north of Milwaukee, is in the early stage of being developed by Vantage Data Centers (Denver, Colorado). That campus could add up to 3,500 MW to WEC's load at full buildout. Any load generated by that data center is not included in WEC's projected load growth of 1,800 MW through 2029.
Over the 2025-2029 period, most of WEC's generation-related spending will go to regulated renewable generation it will build and own. The company plans to invest about $9.1 billion in renewable energy generation and battery energy storage systems (BESS) over that timeframe. That includes up to 2,900 MW of solar, at a cost of about $5.5 billion; roughly 900 MW of wind, at a cost of approximately $2.7 billion; and as much as 565 MW of BESS, costing about $900 million. These investments will quadruple WEC's existing carbon-free generation, the company said August 4.
The company also plans to modernize its gas-fired generation fleet by adding about 1,100 MW of combustion turbines at its Oak Creek power station, at an expected cost of $1.2 billion. That new generation is expected to begin operating in 2027 or 2028.
Separately, 675 MW of gas-fired unit additions, at a cost of about $960 million, is in the pipeline as well.
WEC also plans to build up to 242 MW of reciprocating internal combustion engine (RICE) generation at its Paris station, at a cost of approximately $550 million. Some of that generation is expected to be operating by 2027.
In contrast to several other utilities that have decided to prolong their use of coal, WEC officials confirmed to investors August 4 that they plan to eliminate coal use by the end of 2032. The company has retired nearly 2,500 MW fossil fuel generation, and plans to retire as much as 1,239 MW more by the end of 2031. The retirement of 611 MW of those megawatts, at the Oak Creek station, may depend on the energy supply situation within the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) (Carmel, Indiana), the regional grid manager.
WEC plans for its electric generation portfolio to become carbon neutral by 2050. It has already reduced its carbon footprint by about 56% since 2025. It plans to achieve carbon-neutrality through a combination of carbon reductions, such as shutting down coal-fired power plants or converting them to burn natural gas, and purchasing carbon offsets from third parties.
Click on the image at right to see WEC's plan for its electric generation portfolio to achieve carbon-neutrality by 2050.
To ensure WEC's gas and electric utilities have an adequate supply of natural gas, the company plans to build a liquefied natural gas facility with a capacity of up to 2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) at its Oak Creek campus, at a cost of about $456 million. That facility is expected to become operational in 2027. WEC is planning to supplement that with an additional 4 Bcf/d of storage capacity, at a cost of about $940 million.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
In that August 4 investor update, WEC officials said the company's planned capital expenditures (capex) were expected to total about $28 billion over the five-year period 2025-2029. That's about 39% higher than what it planned to spend its August 2023 investor update, when company officials projected a five-year capex program of approximately $20.1 billion over the 2023-2027 period.
WEC provides electricity and natural gas to about 4.7 million customers in the Upper Midwest states of Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan. It also owns an energy infrastructure unit. WEC also owns 60% of merchant transmission company ATC LLC Incorporated (Waukesha, Wisconsin), formerly known as the American Transmission Company, a transmission-only utility that currently owns, operates and maintains over 10,000 miles of electric power lines in the Upper Midwest.
WEC's capital investment in ATC is expected to total about $3.2 billion over the 2025-2029 period, WEC officials said August 4. In August 2023, WEC's share of ATC's projected capital outlays over a five-year period were about $2 billion. As the nation's transmission buildout accelerates, the capital demands on ATC and WEC have also risen.
Industrial Info is tracking nine active WEC projects valued at about $1.6 billion. WEC's largest outlays are for adding gas-fired generating capacity at the company's Oak Creek and Paris stations as well as decommissioning and demolishing older generating units 5,6,7 and 8 at the Oak Creek station. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can learn more by viewing the related project reports.
IIR also is tracking roughly 49 ATC projects with total investment value of about $3.7 billion. Most of these projects are high-voltage transmission lines, nearly all of which are located in Wisconsin. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the related project reports.
The $28 billion in capital investments that WEC plans to make in its businesses would be the largest five-year capital spend in its history. Nearly half of that sum, about $13.2 billion, will be directed to electric generation, company officials said in their August 4 investor update. Another $4.5 billion will go to the electric distribution utilities it owns while gas utility units are slated to receive about $5.2 billion over the 2025-2029 period.
WEC's electric utility units are expected to add about 1,800 megawatts (MW) of new load through the of 2029. That would work out to a 20% gain in overall electric demand. Over the 2027-2029 period, when several planned data centers are operating, annual electric demand growth will grow 4.5% to 5% per year, the company projected. That's about five times the normal utility load growth before the AI era.
Microsoft Corporation (Redmond, Washington) is building a huge AI-powered data center in a WEC service area, in Mt. Pleasant, Wisconsin, that is scheduled to go live next year. Another very large AI-equipped data center campus, planned for Port Washington, Wisconsin, just north of Milwaukee, is in the early stage of being developed by Vantage Data Centers (Denver, Colorado). That campus could add up to 3,500 MW to WEC's load at full buildout. Any load generated by that data center is not included in WEC's projected load growth of 1,800 MW through 2029.
Over the 2025-2029 period, most of WEC's generation-related spending will go to regulated renewable generation it will build and own. The company plans to invest about $9.1 billion in renewable energy generation and battery energy storage systems (BESS) over that timeframe. That includes up to 2,900 MW of solar, at a cost of about $5.5 billion; roughly 900 MW of wind, at a cost of approximately $2.7 billion; and as much as 565 MW of BESS, costing about $900 million. These investments will quadruple WEC's existing carbon-free generation, the company said August 4.
The company also plans to modernize its gas-fired generation fleet by adding about 1,100 MW of combustion turbines at its Oak Creek power station, at an expected cost of $1.2 billion. That new generation is expected to begin operating in 2027 or 2028.
Separately, 675 MW of gas-fired unit additions, at a cost of about $960 million, is in the pipeline as well.
WEC also plans to build up to 242 MW of reciprocating internal combustion engine (RICE) generation at its Paris station, at a cost of approximately $550 million. Some of that generation is expected to be operating by 2027.
In contrast to several other utilities that have decided to prolong their use of coal, WEC officials confirmed to investors August 4 that they plan to eliminate coal use by the end of 2032. The company has retired nearly 2,500 MW fossil fuel generation, and plans to retire as much as 1,239 MW more by the end of 2031. The retirement of 611 MW of those megawatts, at the Oak Creek station, may depend on the energy supply situation within the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) (Carmel, Indiana), the regional grid manager.
WEC plans for its electric generation portfolio to become carbon neutral by 2050. It has already reduced its carbon footprint by about 56% since 2025. It plans to achieve carbon-neutrality through a combination of carbon reductions, such as shutting down coal-fired power plants or converting them to burn natural gas, and purchasing carbon offsets from third parties.
Click on the image at right to see WEC's plan for its electric generation portfolio to achieve carbon-neutrality by 2050. To ensure WEC's gas and electric utilities have an adequate supply of natural gas, the company plans to build a liquefied natural gas facility with a capacity of up to 2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) at its Oak Creek campus, at a cost of about $456 million. That facility is expected to become operational in 2027. WEC is planning to supplement that with an additional 4 Bcf/d of storage capacity, at a cost of about $940 million.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
