LEASES

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2024

In June 2024, UMERC entered into an agreement to acquire and construct Renegade, a utility-scale solar-powered electric generating facility in Delta and Marquette counties, Michigan. Commercial operation of the project is targeted at the end of 2026. Related to its investment in Renegade, UMERC entered into several land leases that commenced in the second quarter of 2024. Each lease has an initial construction term that ends upon achieving commercial operation, then automatically extends for 25 years with an option for an additional 25-year extension. We expect the optional extension to be exercised, and, as a result, the land leases are being amortized over the extended term of the leases. Once Renegade achieves commercial operation, the lease liability will be remeasured to reflect the final total acres being leased. We expect to recover the lease payments through rates.

Our total obligation under the land-related finance lease for Renegade was $18.7 million at June 30, 2024, and was included in long-term debt on our balance sheet. Our finance lease right of use asset related to Renegade was also $18.7 million as of June 30, 2024, and was included in property, plant, and equipment on our balance sheet.

Our weighted-average discount rate for the Renegade finance lease was 5.86%. We used an estimate of the fully collateralized incremental borrowing rate based upon information available for similarly rated companies in determining the present value of lease payments.

Future minimum lease payments and the corresponding present value of our net minimum lease payments under the finance lease for Renegade as of June 30, 2024, were as follows:


(in millions)
Six Months Ended December 31, 2024	$	0.7
2025	0.3
2026	0.9
2027	0.9
2028	0.9
2029	0.9
Thereafter	70.5
Total minimum lease payments	75.1
Less: Interest	(56.4)
Present value of minimum lease payments	18.7
Less: Short-term lease liabilities	—
Long-term lease liabilities	$	18.7

On July 30, 2024, WE and WPS partnered with an unaffiliated utility to acquire and construct Koshkonong, a utility-scale solar-powered electric generating facility located in Dane County, Wisconsin. Once fully constructed, WE and WPS will collectively own 270 MWs of solar generation. Related to their investment in Koshkonong, WE and WPS, along with their unaffiliated utility partner, entered into several land leases that commenced in the third quarter of 2024. We are currently evaluating the impact these leases will have on our financial statements and related disclosures.