--- title: "WEC Energy Group seeks to buy $2 billion of Invenergy gas plants no regulator tested for need" description: "Wisconsin's Public Service Commission cleared 1.5 gigawatts of merchant gas on October 15 through a review its chair said state law confined, and We Energies has applied to buy the pair for more than $2 billion just as analysts cut the stock's targets toward the market price." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Power" published: 2026-10-23T17:18:29.092Z modified: 2026-10-23T17:18:29.092Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/wec-energy-group-seeks-to-buy-2-billion-of-invenergy-gas-plants-no-regulator-tested-for-need language: en keywords: "Utilities, Natural Gas, Data Centers, WEC Energy Group, Analyst Calls, Dividends" --- # WEC Energy Group seeks to buy $2 billion of Invenergy gas plants no regulator tested for need > Wisconsin's Public Service Commission cleared 1.5 gigawatts of merchant gas on October 15 through a review its chair said state law confined, and We Energies has applied to buy the pair for more than $2 billion just as analysts cut the stock's targets toward the market price. ## The permit nobody had to justify Wisconsin's utility regulator, the Public Service Commission, voted unanimously on Thursday, October 15 [to approve two natural gas plants](https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2026/10/19/state-regulators-approve-two-new-natural-gas-plants/) from Invenergy, a Chicago-based developer: Foundry Ridge at 324 megawatts and Red Oak Ridge at nearly 1.2 gigawatts, due online in 2028 and 2030 [1]. We Energies, the Wisconsin utility owned by NYSE-listed [WEC Energy Group](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/wec-energy-group), [has applied to buy the pair for more than $2 billion](https://theinference.org/article/we-energies-seeks-2-3-billion-for-power-from-wisconsin-s-1-5-gw-ai-gas-plants-as-customers-pay-for-dead-coal) [1][2]. The ask reaches shareholders as banks from Scotiabank to [Barclays](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/barclays) cut their targets toward the market price and third-quarter earnings arrive October 29 [6][8]. They were the first gas plants cleared through Wisconsin's merchant route, a state law path that lets private developers rather than utilities seek permits [1]. Commission Chair Summer Strand said the statute left regulators "limited in what we can consider," and Commissioner Kristy Nieto named the driver plainly: "gas for AI, you can call it" [1]. ## The bill lands on 4.8 million meters WEC Energy Group serves 4.8 million utility customers across four states [8], and the utility's applications put the cost of acquiring and building the two plants at more than $2 billion [1][2]. The commission's draft assessment expects Wisconsin's peak load to rise from about 14.2 gigawatts this year past 20 gigawatts by 2032, with 72 percent of the increase tied to three data center developments [3]. Ciaran Gallagher, energy and air manager at the nonprofit Clean Wisconsin, points to the mechanism: with gas, "there is a fuel cost that is mostly passed through directly to ratepayers" [2]. A UW-Madison analysis ties the two plants' pollution to more than 100 premature deaths over their lifespan [1]. ## The buildout is already in the capex line The queue keeps growing. We Energies [filed plans this month for Fox North](https://www.wpr.org/news/we-energies-plans-new-750mw-natural-gas-plant-in-fox-valley), a 750-megawatt plant beside the existing Fox Energy Center in Wrightstown that would not start construction before 2029 [2][3], and Invenergy wants another 1,900 megawatts in Calumet County [1][2]. The spending has arrived ahead of the steel: WEC's capital expenditure ran $4.40 billion in 2025, up 58 percent from $2.78 billion in 2024, according to its SEC filings [5]. *Chart: **Capital spending ran 58 percent higher in 2025 than in 2024** Line chart of WEC Energy Group quarterly capital expenditure from Q3 2023 to Q2 2026* *Quarterly capital expenditure in USD billions, WEC Energy Group, from its SEC filings. [5]* ## Analysts spent October cutting targets toward the market price The equity tells the other story. On September 30, Scotiabank cut its target to $117 from $140, Barclays to $108 from $117, and on October 22 [HSBC started coverage at Hold with a $106.50 target](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/hsbc-initiates-coverage-on-wec-energy-with-hold-rating-106-50-price-target-ce785cded880f520) [6]. Five of the eight bank targets set or cut this month sit below the October 22 close of $112.15, and the 20-analyst mean of $116.83 stands 4.2 percent above it [6]. The stock trades at 21.7 times trailing earnings against a five-year median of 21.2, and insiders sold $5.9 million of stock over the past year without buying a share [7]. The consensus still reads Buy across 23 analysts, at nine buys, twelve holds and two sells [9]. *Chart: **Five bank targets now sit below WEC's $112.15 close** Bar chart of WEC price targets from HSBC, Goldman Sachs, Barclays, BMO, KeyBanc, JPMorgan, Jefferies, BTIG and the analyst mean, against the October 22 close* *Twelve-month price targets set or cut in October 2026 plus the 20-analyst mean, in dollars per share, against the October 22 close of $112.15. [6]* ## The other side, and what decides it We Energies spokesperson Brendan Conway calls the plants "critical investments" that will "strengthen the grid and support reliable service" [1]. His reliability case now rests with the commission, which must still rule on the $2 billion acquisition, on [Oracle's agreement to subscribe to 10 to 20 percent of the output of Point Beach](https://wisconsinwatch.org/2026/10/wisconsin-we-energies-deal-oracle-data-center-nuclear-energy-power-point-beach-plant/), Wisconsin's only operating nuclear plant, and on Fox North [2][4]. ## The dividend is the proven return; October 29 tests the growth Third-quarter earnings land October 29 [6][8]. The 95.25-cent quarterly dividend declared October 15, payable December 1, is the 337th consecutive check in a streak dating to 1942, against a target of paying out 65 to 70 percent of earnings [8]. The decision the record sets up is plain: the dividend is the proven return, the growth is a $2 billion bet no regulator tested for need, and at 21.7 times earnings, with the mean target 4.2 percent above the price and insiders only selling, the October 29 print is not the place to chase it [6][7][8]. No regulator had to prove Wisconsin needed these plants; whether its 4.8 million customers must now buy them is the question still open at the commission [1][2][8]. ## Takeaway Wisconsin cleared 1.5 GW of merchant gas without a need test, and We Energies has applied to buy the pair for more than $2 billion; with five October price targets below the $112.15 close, insiders only selling and a 337-quarter dividend streak, the October 29 print is a watch, not a chase. ## Sources 1. [Urban Milwaukee / Wisconsin Public Radio, State Regulators Approve Two New Natural Gas Plants, 19 October 2026](https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2026/10/19/state-regulators-approve-two-new-natural-gas-plants/) 2. [Wisconsin Public Radio, We Energies plans new 750MW natural gas plant in Fox Valley, 9 October 2026](https://www.wpr.org/news/we-energies-plans-new-750mw-natural-gas-plant-in-fox-valley) 3. [POWER Magazine, We Energies Unveils Plan for New 750-MW Gas-Fired Plant in Wisconsin, 13 October 2026](https://www.powermag.com/we-energies-unveils-plan-for-new-750-mw-gas-fired-plant-in-wisconsin/) 4. [Wisconsin Watch, We Energies strikes deal to power Oracle data center with nuclear energy, 2 October 2026](https://wisconsinwatch.org/2026/10/wisconsin-we-energies-deal-oracle-data-center-nuclear-energy-power-point-beach-plant/) 5. [WEC Energy Group quarterly figures from its SEC filings (EDGAR), retrieved 23 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000783325) 6. [MarketScreener / MT Newswires, HSBC Initiates Coverage on WEC Energy With Hold Rating, $106.50 Price Target, 22 October 2026](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/hsbc-initiates-coverage-on-wec-energy-with-hold-rating-106-50-price-target-ce785cded880f520) 7. [GuruFocus, WEC Energy Group Inc (WEC) Stock Up 3.4% but GF Value Says Overvalued, GF Score: 69/100, 22 October 2026](https://www.gurufocus.com/news/9138284/wec-energy-group-inc-wec-stock-up-34-but-gf-value-says-overvalued-gf-score-69100) 8. [The Financial Wire, WEC Energy, which serves 4.8 million utility customers, pays a 95.25-cent dividend December 1, October 2026](https://thefinancialwire.com/wec-energy-which-serves-4-8-million-utility-customers-pays-95-25/) 9. [TradingView, WEC Energy Group, Inc. Stock 12-Month Price Target Cut to $116.88, Implies 8% Upside, October 2026](https://www.tradingview.com/news/tradingview:e77de28a45179:0-wec-energy-group-inc-stock-12-month-price-target-cut-to-116-88-implies-8-upside/) --- WEC Energy Group seeks to buy $2 billion of Invenergy gas plants no regulator tested for need — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/wec-energy-group-seeks-to-buy-2-billion-of-invenergy-gas-plants-no-regulator-tested-for-need