Two Creeks Solar Park in Manitowoc County. (IMAGE: Courtesy of Wisconsin Public Service)
MANITOWOC COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Construction is now halfway complete at the Two Creeks Solar Park in Manitowoc County. It will be Wisconsin’s first large-scale solar facility.
“It has now more than 250,000 solar panels installed as part of a total of 500,000 solar panels that will be a part of the facility,” says WPS Spokesman
Matt Cullen, “We expect that it will be completed later on this year and begin generating electricity for our customers later on this year.”
Once the facility is completed, the Two Creeks Solar Park will be capable of generating 150 megawatts of energy. That’s enough to power more than 33,000 homes.
The solar facility is an important pieces of WPS’ plan to provide a cleaner energy future for the communities it serves by reducing carbon emissions, reducing costs to customers and preserving a diverse mix of generation facilities.
Right now, the utility uses coal, natural gas, and wind to produce electricity.
“It’s an important part of our path to provide a cleaner energy future that is safe, reliable, and affordable,” Cullen tells WTAQ News, “Being able to provide a diverse mix of generation facilities for our customers to generate the electricity and the energy that they need.”
Since breaking ground last August, construction crews have been installing several components throughout the 800-acre facility, including solar panels, steel support structures, solar tracking mechanisms and electrical equipment.
“The panels will start facing east in the morning as the sun sets in the west, the panels will actually track the sun so they can capture the energy that the sun’s rays are providing and then that’s converted to electricity to provide to our customers,” Cullen explains.
Two Creeks Solar Park is owned by Wisconsin Public Service (WPS) and Madison Gas and Electric (MGE). The clean energy that is produced on site will serve customers of both utilities. WPS owns 100 megawatts, while MGE will own 50 megawatts of power supplied by the facility.
The project is expected to begin generating electricity by the end of this year.
Along with the Two Creeks Solar Park, WPS will provide additional solar energy to its customers through its ownership of 100 MW of the Badger Hollow Solar Farm in southwest Wisconsin. Construction of this facility also is underway and is expected to be completed next April.
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