WEC Energy Group has officially published its 2023 Corporate Responsibility Report, which delivers a rather comprehensive overview of the company’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance. The stated report effectively outlines the progress made by WEC Energy Group and its family of companies on major projects, as well as on company’s mission to deliver affordable, reliable and clean energy across the Midwest. Furthermore, it also touches upon the WEC Energy’s climate strategy and its research and development of emerging technologies, such as renewable natural gas, hydrogen power, long-duration battery storage, and many other environmental-focused solutions. For instance, readers can expect to learn how, at the end of 2023, the company reduced carbon emissions to 54 percent lower than 2005 levels. This can be contextualized once you take into account that WEC Energy is targeting a 60 percent reduction in carbon emissions from electric generation by the end of 2025 and an 80 percent reduction by the end of 2030. Apart from that, the company is planning to eliminate coal as an energy source by the end of 2032, and at the same time, achieve a carbon-neutral electric generation fleet by 2050. Not just that, it is also aiming to clock net-zero methane emissions across its natural gas distribution operations by the end of 2030. The all-new report also claims that, to achieve these goals, WEC Energy has earmarked an estimated $23.7 billion capital plan. In fact, the company even has a smaller and more achievable five-year plan in place, a plan which includes $7 billion worth of investment to build and own approximately 3,800 megawatts in augmented renewable energy capacity for the company’s regulated utilities, thus more than quadrupling its carbon-free generation.
“We’re pleased to report that we continued to make solid progress on our industry-leading targets for reducing carbon and methane emissions. We recently retired additional coal generation, and moved up our timeline for a complete exit from coal — now planned by the end of 2032 — while adding renewable power and efficient natural gas to reliably serve our customers,” said Scott Lauber, president and CEO of WEC Energy. “We have served the people of the Midwest for more than a century. The future is bright, and we are dedicated to powering our communities now and for many years to come.”
Among other things, this new report would inform the reader on WEC Energy receiving a 2023 EPRI Technology Transfer Award. It was also named the 2023 Top Hydrogen Plan Award winner by POWER magazine’s selection committee for the company’s successful pilot project to test hydrogen as a fuel source for power generation. Furthermore, the company has also received the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development’s Vets Ready Award for outstanding support of military veterans, marking the fourth time WEC Energy has won this award. The report even has a section dedicated towards the company’s $333 million worth of spend in 2023 with diverse suppliers. On top of that, WEC Energy has also provided $20.7 million in charitable grants and contributions to nonprofit organizations, with a focus on the well-being of the communities it serves and the natural world’s preservation. Another detail from which WEC Energy’s 2023 Corporate Responsibility Report took the veil off was its integration into the S&P’s High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index. Not just that, it also introduced us to a strengthened talent pipeline on the company’s part, something which WEC Energy has achieved through innovative programs and partnerships, including with Milwaukee Public Schools and the Chicago Urban League.
Making this whole runner even more important is, of course, WEC Energy’s existing stature. This stature stems from the company’s principal utilities that include We Energies, Wisconsin Public Service, Peoples Gas, North Shore Gas, Michigan Gas Utilities, Minnesota Energy Resources and Upper Michigan Energy Resources. Further understood to be one of the nation’s premier energy providers and a Fortune 500 company, WEC Energy serves, at the moment, more than 4.7 million customers across Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota.
