Net-Zero Carbon Electricity by 2050 - MGE Energy, Inc. - Madison, Wisconsin

Net-Zero Carbon Electricity by 2050

Madison Gas and Electric (MGE) is working toward a more sustainable future for the benefit of all its investors, employees, customers and the broader community. The company is targeting net-zero carbon electricity by 2050.

"In creating an energy future for our customers and shareholders, we need ambitious and crucial reductions in carbon emissions that align with the work of the scientific community, specifically the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and its assessment of limiting global temperature increases to 1.5 degrees Celsius," MGE Chairman, President and CEO Jeff Keebler said. 

Strategies for Deep Decarbonization

MGE already has been on a path toward reduced carbon emissions, having previously established a carbon reduction goal of at least 80% by 2050 from 2005 levels. The U.S. Mid-Century Strategy (MCS) for Deep Decarbonization identifies greenhouse gas emissions reductions of 80% by 2050 (from 2005 levels).

In early 2022, MGE committed to achieving carbon reductions of at least 80% by 2030 from 2005 levels. 

The MCS is the United States' strategy for meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change to limit global warming. Both the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the MCS rely on decarbonizing electric generation, using energy efficiently, and electrifying other energy uses, including transportation. These are the strategies MGE is pursuing and will continue to pursue to achieve deep decarbonization and net-zero carbon electricity. If we can go further faster by working together with our customers, we will.

See MGE's Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Report for additional information.

Energy 2030

In November 2015, MGE announced its Energy 2030 framework, which laid out the company's foundational objectives for building your community energy company for the future:

  • Provide customers with options they want today and in the future,
  • Help customers use energy efficiently and control future costs for all customers,
  • Transition MGE to a more environmentally sustainable energy supply,
  • Provide a dynamic electric grid that can integrate energy technologies to serve all customers, and
  • Ensure that new and changing technology serves all customers equitably.
  • Deepen our engagement with the community.

MGE will continue to seize opportunities and take advantage of new, evolving technologies to advance its carbon reduction goals.

Cleaner Energy

MGE continues to invest in the decarbonization of its energy supply by growing its use of renewable energy resources like solar and wind power. 

Solar Power: MGE is committed to growing its use of renewable resources, including solar energy, as it works to reduce the carbon intensity of its electric generation. The company also is investing in the combination of solar and battery storage. 

See MGE’s current and proposed solar projects. 

Wind Power: MGE has been involved for decades in building or operating a number of wind farms in Wisconsin and Iowa to help serve its customers with clean energy. MGE's wind farms also help keep energy dollars in the region while creating an economic opportunity for host farmers and communities.  

See MGE's current and proposed wind farms.

Community Solar: MGE's unique Shared Solar project in partnership with the City of Middleton, Wis., came online in early 2017. MGE expanded the program in 2020 with a new 6-MW solar installation, Morey Field Solar at Middleton Municipal Airport. 

Renewable Energy Rider (RER): Under this program, MGE partners with large customers on customized renewable energy solutions. Dane County and MGE partnered under this program to build a 10-MW solar array on county-owned land at Dane County Regional Airport. MGE owns the solar infrastructure, leases the land from Dane County and sells the energy to Dane County. The array became operational in December 2020.  

Two-and-a-half MW of the 6-MW Morey Field Solar project in Middleton serve two RER customers, the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District and the City of Middleton. The array came online in August 2020.

In spring 2021, the 22-MW O'Brien Solar Fields in Fitchburg, Wis., began serving several large customers, including the City of Fitchburg, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Wisconsin Department of Administration and a number of local businesses. The project, built under MGE’s RER program, is currently the largest solar project in Dane County. 

The 8-MW Hermsdorf Solar Fields project in southeast Madison provides solar energy to the City of Madison and the Madison Metropolitan School District under our RER program. It is expected to increase renewable energy use in City operations by nearly 20% and by about 16% for the school district.

The RER model is designed to meet the needs and goals of companies or organizations that support or have signed on to the Corporate Renewable Energy Buyers' Principles, a collaboration facilitated by the World Resources Institute and the World Wildlife Fund.

Transition from Coal: MGE has no controlling interest in coal-fired generation and announced several years ago that it has no plans for additional coal resources. The company’s transition away from coal is ongoing.

MGE reduced its ownership share in the Columbia Energy Center, one of two coal plants in which MGE is a minority owner. As part of MGE's ongoing transition away from coal, MGE and the co-owners of the Columbia Energy Center plan to suspend coal operations at the plant by the end of 2029. This shift from the previous date of 2026 recognizes the co-owners’ need for increased capacity. This shift from the previous date of 2026 also is intended to provide the companies time to explore converting at least one of Columbia’s units to natural gas before the end of 2029. 

MGE remains committed to eliminating coal as a generation source and to achieving our goal of 80% carbon reduction by 2030. With the planned suspension of coal-fired generation at Columbia, MGE will have eliminated approximately two-thirds of the company's current coal-fired generation capacity.

MGE and the Columbia's co-owners are partnering on an innovative, first-of-its-kind in the United States long-duration energy storage system that would be capable of providing at least 10 hours of energy storage, if approved by state regulators. Known as the Columbia Energy Storage Project, the 18-megawatt project received an award for a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy in July 2024. 

MGE expects to eliminate coal-fired generation from its ownership portfolio by the end of 2032. MGE is a minority owner of the coal-fired Elm Road Generating Station in Oak Creek, Wis. By working with the plant’s co-owners to enhance fuel flexibility at Elm Road by transitioning to natural gas, MGE expects coal to be used only as a backup fuel at the plant by the end of 2030. The company expects the elimination of coal as a fuel source at Elm Road by the end of 2032, at which point MGE will no longer own any coal-fired generation.

New Technologies

Enabling new technologies, such as electric vehicles (EVs) and smart home technology, is a priority under MGE's Energy 2030 framework.

  • EV Charging: MGE is a utility leader in EV charging with a network of public charging stations that operates on 100% clean energy (including an EV fast-charging hub in the heart of Madison’s Capitol East District), an EV home charging program and other programs and pilots for employers and multifamily property owners to install charging stations at workplaces and residential properties. MGE is working to serve a growing EV market and to reduce carbon emissions.
  • Partnerships: MGE is partnering with the City of Madison's Metro Transit, which serves the majority of MGE's electric service territory with public transit, to facilitate electric buses and charging infrastructure. The City has a goal to electrify its bus fleet. MGE is providing financial and in-kind support as well as expertise to support the City's electrification efforts. 
  • Smart Thermostat Program: MGE works with residential electric customers through MGE Connect®. With customers’ permission, minor temperature adjustments are made to their smart thermostats to reduce energy use during periods of high demand. The program allows MGE to better understand the role and impact of smart devices in managing demand on our community grid. MGE is meeting another objective under Energy 2030 to deepen customer engagement around energy efficiency and conservation.
  • Residential Battery Storage: In collaboration with the Electric Power Research Institute and residential electric customers, MGE is working with several homeowners who have a solar photovoltaic system and a battery installed outside their home. This project helps MGE understand how batteries operate in Wisconsin temperatures and how batteries could help to control long-term costs by managing our collective use of energy. Battery storage also could provide enhanced reliability as we continue our transition to greater use of renewable resources. 
  • Managed EV Charging: MGE is partnering with EV drivers in our service territory to test how smart charging using vehicle telematics can save customers money and help plan for the impact of EVs on our grid.  

Energy 2050 Together Website: One of the ways in which MGE seeks to engage customers and keep customers informed of efforts to achieve deep decarbonization is through mge2050.com, which features clean energy programs and projects, new technologies, such as EVs, and energy-saving tips and information.