WEC Energy Group to Increase Ownership Interest in Three Midwest Wind Farms

MILWAUKEE, Feb. 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- WEC Energy Group (NYSE: WEC) today announced that the company has agreed to increase its ownership interest from 80% to 90% in three Midwest windfarms: Blooming Grove Wind Farm, Thunderhead Wind Energy Center and the Upstream Wind Energy Center. The total investment is $118 million for an additional 75 megawatts of capacity.

"This agreement marks another step forward for the energy infrastructure segment of our five-year capital plan," said Gale Klappa, executive chairman of WEC Energy Group. "The plan calls for deploying $1.8 billion in high-quality projects that will serve strong, vibrant companies for years to come."

Invenergy, a leading developer and operator of sustainable energy solutions, is currently building the Blooming Grove and Thunderhead projects which are expected to achieve commercial operation by the end of 2020. The Upstream Wind Energy Center, also developed by Invenergy, began service in January 2019. All three wind farms have long-term offtake agreements with affiliates of investment-grade multinational corporations.

Under the tax rules, the WEC Energy Group investment is expected to be eligible for 100% bonus depreciation and production tax credits. The transactions are subject to receiving all necessary regulatory approvals.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE: WEC), based in Milwaukee, is one of the nation's premier energy companies, serving 4.5 million customers in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota.

The company's principal utilities are We Energies, Wisconsin Public Service, Peoples Gas, North Shore Gas, Michigan Gas Utilities, Minnesota Energy Resources and Upper Michigan Energy Resources. The company's other major subsidiary, We Power, designs, builds and owns electric generating plants.

WEC Energy Group (wecenergygroup.com) is a Fortune 500 company and a component of the S&P 500. The company has approximately 45,000 stockholders of record, 7,500 employees and $35 billion of assets.

WEC Energy Group
CONTACT: Brian Manthey (media), 414-221-4444, brian.manthey@wecenergygroup.com; or Beth Straka (investment community), 414-221-4639, beth.straka@wecenergygroup.com
Web Site: http://www.wecenergygroup.co

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