WEC Energy Group expects to stop using coal as a power source by 2032, three years earlier than previously expected.

WEC Energy Group executives have presented the utility's plan to become coal-free in eight years, beginning with the shutdown next year of a pair of coal-powered generating units at its We Energies subsidiary's Oak Creek Power Plant.

Other coal-fired units will be retired between 2025 and 2031, resulting in the elimination of more than 1,700 megawatts of generating capacity, equal to the consumption of more than 1 million homes. To help make up for that, the company unveiled plans for an additional $1.4 billion in spending on new sources of renewable energy that, combined with $5.4 billion previously announced, is expected to bring an additional 3,800 megawatts of wind, solar and battery power online over the next five years.