WEC Energy Group adds $1 billion to spending plan to meet expanded Microsoft demand - BizTimes

Milwaukee-based WEC Energy Group is adding $1 billion to its 5-year capital spending plan to meet additional demand from Microsoft’s expansion of its data center campus in Mount Pleasant. WEC Energy Group’s 5-year capital spending plan now calls for $37.5 billion in spending between 2026 and 2030. It includes $7.4 billion for natural gas power generation and storage and $12.6 billion for renewable power generation. When it was announced in October, the plan represented a 30% increase in capital spending from the previous plan that covered 2025 to 2029. The latest increase in spending, announced on WEC’s fourth quarter earnings call on Thursday, comes after Microsoft received approval from Mount Pleasant to expand its data center campus with an additional 8.4 million square feet of facilities and potential $13 billion investment Based on Microsoft’s plans, WEC Energy Group added 500 MW of additional customer demand as part of its capital plan. That plan now includes 2.6 gigawatts of additional demand in the I-94 corridor and another 1.3 GW of new demand north of Milwaukee, primarily from Vantage Data Center’s project in Port Washington. Scott Lauber, president and chief executive officer of WEC Energy Group, also pointed to projects from Foxconn, Rockwell Automation and Uline as contributing to economic growth and increased energy demand. The additional demand from Microsoft could be just the start of more to come as the company continues to expand its operations. The current WEC Energy Group capital plan only covers through 2030. “I think there’s going to be a lot to come as we start thinking about 2031 and the future,” Lauber said. “And remember, there’s still more land that they are looking to purchase and haven’t developed yet, so I think there’s a lot of opportunities here.” Asked if this expansion by Microsoft was a replacement for the data center project in Caledonia that the company decided not to pursue last year, Lauber noted Microsoft had already purchased the land for its expansion prior to the that decision. “They’re still looking for additional land to replace what they decided to move away from in Caledonia,” he said. As for which customers will pay for the additional capital investments to serve data centers, Lauber highlighted WEC’s proposed very large customer tariff which is currently pending before the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin. “This tariff is the best out there to make sure data centers pay their fair share,” he said, adding the company was comfortable going through the entire case process to make sure questions about the proposal are addressed and there is “true transparency” in how data centers are billed. Lauber also highlighted the transparency of the VLC as something that is attractive to potential data center users as they consider where to locate their investments. “There’s other opportunities and we’re in multiple discussions,” he said.