Molson Coors brews beer with 300 MW solar project

From pv magazine USA

Badger Hollow Solar Park in southwestern Wisconsin is providing renewable energy to power Molson Coors’ operations in the US state.

The 300 MW solar installation, developed by Invenergy, is the largest in Wisconsin and generates enough electricity to power the equivalent of 90,000 homes.

The Badger Hollow solar installation is co-located with hog farming operations. The project provides tax revenue from the shared leasing of the facility on farmland.

The project was developed in two 150 MW stages. The first phase came online in December 2021 and the second stage came online in January 2024. The solar park is built on 1,100 acres features a total of 830,000 bifacial solar modules on trackers.

Wisconsin Public Service owns 100 MW of the first phase, with Madison Gas and Electric (MGE) owning 50 MW of that project. MGE and We Energies, a local utility, jointly own the second phase.

“The completion of Badger Hollow is another step in our ongoing transition to greater use of cost-effective, carbon-free, renewable energy to serve all MGE electric customers,” said Jeff Keebler, MGE chairman, president and CEO. “By 2030, we expect every MGE electric customer will have 80% fewer carbon emissions from their electricity use simply by being an MGE customer as we work toward our goal of net-zero carbon electricity.”

Molson Coors is taking part in We Energies’ Energy for Tomorrow subscription program that allows companies, local governments and other users buy a share of the energy produced the facility. The program offers renewable energy certificates for energy from the facility. The company purchases electricity for its Leinenkugel’s brewery in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin under an agreement with Xcel Energy.