Wisconsin utility Alliant Energy said that it has completed its first-ever community solar project in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, just north of Milwaukee.
First announced in December 2020, the 1 MW installation is located on land leased from the local Michels Corporation, a utility contractor. It is expected to generate enough electricity to fulfill the energy needs of 1,000 customers.
Michels also serves as the anchor tenant of the project, signing up for a significant portion of capacity, while still leaving enough open for other interested customers.
“When the opportunity to participate presented itself, we saw it as a win-win,” said Pat Michels, president of Michels Corporation. “We could do the right thing for the environment and provide ourselves the ability to have multiple locations benefit from clean energy.”
The project is the first under Alliant’s community solar program, which provides subscribed customers with a credit on their monthly electric bills for every block of energy purchased. The credits begin generating once the facility is in service and will last for 20 years. When initially announced in December 2020, 4,000 solar blocks were available for subscription to Alliant Energy’s Wisconsin electric customers on a first-come, first-served basis. Currently, less than 250 solar blocks remain available.
