By 2030, We Energies expects to produce significantly more electricity than it does today — and consume 25 to 30 percent less water to do it. That may surprise people who assume more power means more water. In southeastern Wisconsin, it doesn’t.
Some have claimed that more electricity demand means a dramatic increase in water use. That may have been true decades ago when older plants relied on more water-intensive cooling systems. It is not the reality here today. Our new renewable energy plants use zero water to produce electricity, and our natural gas plants under construction consume far less water than the older plants we have retired in recent years.
That is an important fact to keep in mind as the region adds data centers and other major investments. To support this growth, we are building gigawatts of new generation capacity, but the technology powering that expansion is fundamentally different from what came before and we are using less water because of that.
Our modern approach to powering the grid should give communities confidence as Wisconsin competes for new jobs and investment. Economic growth requires dependable electricity, and our region can provide it without the environmental tradeoffs associated with older generation models.
We Energies takes seriously its responsibility to provide reliable power and protect the resources that make our communities strong. Water is one of those resources. The numbers show we are using less of it to generate power than we did in the past, not more — and that is the direction we intend to keep going.
Economic growth and environmental responsibility do not have to be in conflict. In southeastern Wisconsin, the facts show they can move forward together.
This Opinion piece from We Energies President Mike Hooper was published in BizTimes Milwaukee on Aug. 14 2026.