Molson Coors brews beer with solar power

Badger Hollow Solar Park in southwest Wisconsin will be providing renewable energy to power Molson Coors’ operations in the state.

The 300 MW solar installation, developed by Invenergy, is the largest in the state 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, stage 1 came online in December 2021 and stage 2 came online in January 2024. The solar park built on 1,100 acres features a total of 830,000 bifacial solar modules on trackers.

Wisconsin Public Service owns 100 MW of Stage 1, with Madison Gas and Electric (MGE) owning 50 MW of that project. We Energies, a local utility, and MGE 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.