Invenergy Powers Up 250-MW Hardin III Solar, Microsoft Secures Output

• Invenergy commissions 250-MW Hardin III Solar Center in Ohio; WEC Energy majority owner, Microsoft PPA secures output for 48,000 homes’ worth of clean power.

Invenergy has flipped the switch on the 250-MW Hardin III Solar Energy Center, the developer’s third utility-scale project in Hardin County, Ohio. The plant entered commercial service on 4 June 2025, lifting Invenergy’s solar footprint in the county to more than 550 MW and underscoring the Buckeye State’s emergence as a Midwest clean-energy hub.

Hardin III is majority-owned by Wisconsin-based WEC Energy Group, which acquired a 90 % stake through its infrastructure arm. Electricity and renewable energy credits from the site will flow to Microsoft under a long-term power-purchase agreement, supporting the tech giant’s pledge to match 100 % of its power use with renewables by 2025.

Built across roughly 1,500 acres of farmland near the village of Alger, the project features Ohio-made modules supplied by Illuminate USA, Invenergy’s joint-venture manufacturing arm with First Solar. At peak construction the site employed about 375 workers, and the facility is expected to contribute millions in new tax revenue to local schools, emergency services and road projects over its 35-year life.

When fully dispatched, Hardin III will generate enough carbon-free electricity to power around 48,000 homes while avoiding more than 130 million kilograms of CO₂ annually—an environmental benefit comparable to planting over 131 million trees. The array also strengthens grid resilience in PJM territory, where load growth from data centers and electrified manufacturing is accelerating demand for new renewable capacity.

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State officials hailed the commissioning as proof that Ohio’s supply-chain investments are paying dividends. Hardin County alone now hosts three Invenergy solar sites—Hardin I (150 MW), Hardin II (150 MW) and the new Hardin III—collectively supporting hundreds of construction jobs and offering farmers diversified income through long-term land leases.

With more than 22 GW of projects in operation or construction, Invenergy says it will continue pairing development experience with corporate off-take demand. “Hardin III demonstrates how local manufacturing, private capital and Fortune 100 buyers can work together to accelerate America’s clean-energy future,” the company noted.