State utility regulators approved a pair of renewable energy projects last week, including Wisconsin’s first large-scale wind farm in more than a decade.

The Badger Hollow Wind Project in Iowa and Grant counties and the Whitewater Solar Project in Jefferson and Walworth counties received approval from the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, or PSC, on Thursday. 

The Badger Hollow Wind Project is a 118-megawatt wind farm that will be able to generate enough electricity to power more than 30,000 homes, while the Whitewater Solar Project is a 180-megawatt solar farm that will be able to generate enough electricity to power more than 21,000 homes, according to the developers.

Because both were proposed by developers and not state electric utilities, they were not required to provide their project cost to the PSC. Regulators would review costs to Wisconsin energy providers and ratepayers if the facility or power from the facility is purchased by state utilities.

Clean energy and environmental groups framed the approvals as wins for the renewable energy sector.

“Renewable energy generally is facing a lot of threats nationally. Our federal government is taking a lot of creative paths to putting up hurdles for renewables,” said Chelsea Chandler, climate, energy and air program director for the nonprofit Clean Wisconsin. “It’s encouraging to see that projects are still getting permitted here in Wisconsin.”

The federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed this summer by President Donald Trump, phased out tax credits for wind and solar energy that were expanded in a Biden-era climate law. In August, the Trump administration ordered construction to stop on a nearly completed wind farm being built off the coast of Rhode Island, and it canceled $679 million in funding for offshore wind projects. 

For the new projects in Wisconsin, Chandler said there are a few “limited routes” the federal government can interfere with, depending on whether permits are needed related to federal regulations around air traffic and sensitive species.

“Generally speaking, it’s a lot easier to permit an onshore wind project than offshore,” she said. “I’d say these projects moving forward through our process in Wisconsin indicates that they’re in good shape.”

Andrew Kell, policy director for the nonprofit RENEW Wisconsin, said the projects approved by the PSC will be on private property, with farmers choosing to lease their land for solar or wind. 

“It’s really an issue of private property and something that allows farmers to continue their businesses here in the state of Wisconsin,” he said.

According to Clean Wisconsin, the Badger Hollow Wind Project is the first large-scale wind farm approved since 2011.

Chandler said there have been some smaller wind projects in recent years, but Badger Hollow is the first to be more than 100 megawatts.

“It’s been 14 years since we’ve seen a project of this size,” she said. “We expect that there will be more similar projects that will be proposed, and that’s really important.”

The wind farm is being developed by Chicago-based Invenergy, the developer behind the Badger Hollow Solar Project in Iowa County and the Paris Solar Energy Center in Kenosha County. Invenergy also has plans to build a pair of natural gas plants in Kenosha and Walworth counties.

According to Invenergy, the Badger Hollow wind farm is expected to create up to 200 local construction jobs. 

In its application to the PSC, Invenergy said it hoped to begin construction in summer 2026 and complete the project by the end of 2027.

“We are grateful to the Commissioners for their consideration and approval, and to the hundreds of landowners, community leaders, and Wisconsinites who participated in the permitting process,” Brandon Davis, lead developer of Badger Hollow Wind, said in a statement. “Invenergy is proud to support Wisconsin’s domestic energy industry, bringing good-paying jobs and long-term investment to local communities across the state.”

Kell with RENEW Wisconsin said the Badger Hollow wind project would complement the similarly named solar farm nearby because wind tends to blow harder and more consistently at night, while solar panels are most effective during the day.

He also said that wind energy can be harnessed reliably in the winter, when daylight hours are shorter.

“Both seasonally and during the day and night, (these are) very complementary resources in terms of renewable energy development,” Kell said.

The Whitewater Solar project is being developed by Whitewater Solar LLC, an affiliate of New York-based DESRI. It’s a spinoff from the D.E. Shaw group, an investment and technology development firm. The developer estimates the project will create hundreds of local construction jobs.

In a statement, Aileen Kenney, principal of project management and development at DESRI, said the developer is pleased that the project received approval from utility regulators.

“(DESRI) looks forward to working with the communities in Jefferson and Walworth Counties further as the development is finalized and the project is constructed,” the statement reads.

In its application to the PSC, the developer said it hoped to begin construction in April 2026 and complete the project by February 2028.