WEC Energy Group's 2025 Q2 Earnings Call: Unpacking Key Contradictions on Data Centers, Capacity, and Coal Strategy

Microsoft's data center expansion and timeline, load growth and generation capacity, infrastructure investment and capital allocation, coal plant extensions and retirement strategy, and generation capacity and demand-supply balance are the key contradictions discussed in WEC Energy Group's latest 2025Q2 earnings call.



Strong Earnings and Economic Development:
- WEC Energy Group reported earnings of $0.76 a share for Q2 2025 and remains on track to deliver a year of strong results, with an earnings guidance of $5.17 to $5.27 a share for 2025.
- The growth is supported by robust economic development in the region, including major announcements like Yaskawa moving its headquarters to Wisconsin and creating 700 jobs, and progress on Microsoft's data center campus.

Capital Investment and Economic Growth:
- The company is executing on a 5-year capital plan totaling $28 billion, with a focus on low-risk, highly executable projects.
- This plan supports economic growth and reliability, driven by the need to meet the increasing demand from economic development in the region.

Renewable Projects and Energy Infrastructure:
- WEC Energy Group is actively working on renewable projects, including the battery portion of the Paris Solar-Battery Park, which came online in June 2025, providing 110 megawatts of storage.
- The company is also advancing natural gas generation and storage projects, such as the construction of 1,100 megawatts of simple-cycle combustion turbines at the Oak Creek Power Plant site.

Regulatory and Infrastructure Projects:
- The company is awaiting further guidance from the Treasury Department to reflect the executive order issued in early July, impacting the safe harboring of renewable projects in the 5-year capital plan.
- WEC Energy Group is also focused on regulatory cases, including the VLC tariff review in Wisconsin, which could provide a fixed return on equity of 10.48%.