Dairyland is a sponsor and participant in RENEW Wisconsin’s 10th annual Renewable Energy Summit, being held virtually the week of Jan. 11. RENEW Wisconsin’s theme for this year’s event, Building the Clean Energy Mosaic, will “highlight the diversity of technologies, people and scale needed to shape our clean energy future.”

Dairyland Manager, Business Development Craig Harmes is presenting during a Solar Land Stewardship Industry Session. Craig will speak to Dairyland’s support of pollinator habitat growth at the solar energy facilities located throughout its service territory.

Dairyland’s renewable energy investments have received recognition at this event in the past. In 2018, RENEW honored the Quilt Block Wind Farm as Wisconsin’s Renewable Energy Project of the Year. Dairyland purchases all 98 MW of wind energy produced by the Quilt Block Wind Farm from the owner and operator, EDP Renewables North America (EDPR). More than 25,000 households can be powered by Quilt Block.

Dairyland’s solar energy investments have also been honored at the Summit. A solar leader in the Upper Midwest, Dairyland has 18 solar sites operating in all four states it serves. Dairyland has power purchase agreements (PPAs) with developers ENGIE (previously So Core Energy) and EDF Renewables (previously groSolar) on the solar facilities. In addition, many of Dairyland’s member cooperatives multiplied their local renewable energy benefit by piggybacking onto the utility-scale sites with community solar gardens. 

For more information on the Summit and for the full agenda, see the Events section on www.renewwisconsin.org. RENEW Wisconsin is a nonprofit organization seeking to advance renewable energy policies for Wisconsin through advocacy, education and collaborative initiatives. Formed in 1991, RENEW works on policies and programs that expand solar power, wind power, biogas, local hydropower, geothermal energy, and electric vehicle