We Energies and two other Wisconsin utilities will purchase four new renewable energy projects, expected to come online in the next few years. 

The Public Service Commission approved the purchases last week. According to We Energies, the projects account for 450 megawatts of solar, wind and battery storage, or enough to power more than 150,000 homes.

They include the Saratoga Solar Energy Center in Wood County, the Ursa Solar Park in Columbia County, the Badger Hollow Wind Farm in Iowa and Grant counties and the Whitetail Wind Farm in Grant County. The projects all had previous approvals from the PSC.

We Energies will own 80 percent of each project, while Wisconsin Public Service and Madison Gas and Electric will each own 10 percent, according to applications filed with state regulators. It’s part of a strategy to retire older, less efficient fossil fuel plants and invest in newer resources, the applications state.

In a statement, We Energies president Mike Hooper said the PSC’s approval was a “key step” in the utility’s “all of the above” approach to energy generation, which combines renewable energy with natural gas plants.

“These new projects will serve customers year-round and are expected to provide customers millions of dollars in fuel cost and federal tax credit savings,” Hooper stated.

The cost of buying and building the Saratoga solar and battery project is $451.5 million and the cost of acquiring and building the Ursa solar project is roughly $450.5 million, according to the application. 

Meanwhile, the cost of purchasing and building the Badger Hollow wind project is $355.7 million. And the cost of acquiring the Whitetail wind project after it’s built is $221.2 million, according to the application. 

We Energies says the renewable projects are expected to come online in 2027 and 2028.