State utility regulators have signed off on an energy developer’s proposal to build a pair of new natural gas power plants in southern Wisconsin tied to rapidly growing electricity demand from data centers.

The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin has unanimously approved Chicago-based Invenergy’s applications for the Foundry Ridge Energy Center in Walworth County and the Red Oak Ridge Energy Center in Kenosha County.

Together, the projects will be able to generate roughly 1.5 gigawatts. Invenergy hopes to bring the smaller, 324-megawatt Walworth County plant online in 2028, and the larger, nearly 1.2-gigawatt Kenosha County plant online in 2030.

The Kenosha County plant would be the second-largest of the state’s 29 existing natural gas power plants, while the Walworth County plant would be the 12th-largest, according to a report from researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

State law allows private, non-utility developers to apply for permits with state regulators to build energy generation projects. According to the PSC, this was the first time the commission has had to approve natural gas projects through this method.