Category: Berkshire Hathaway Energy

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Berkshire Hathaway’s PacifiCorp has signed a new set of long-term power purchase agreements with Clearway Energy Group. The PPAs will directly support the construction of two wind energy projects: the 280 MW Two Rivers Wind project, which is jointly developed and owned with BluEarth Renewables US LLC and located in Wyoming, and the 152 MW Cedar Creek Wind project, located in Idaho. Both projects are contracted under 25-year PPAs.

The Two Rivers Wind and Cedar Creek Wind projects are expected to reach commercial operations in 2024.

“We’re proud to once again partner with PacifiCorp and help deliver on their goal of sourcing the cleanest, least-risk, and lowest-cost electricity for their customers,” said Valerie Wooley, Vice President of Origination at Clearway. “We’re grateful to BluEarth for their partnership in the Two Rivers Wind project, and to our partners in the development of the Cedar Creek Wind project. We look forward to helping PacifiCorp serve its customers with non-emitting energy resources across the region.”

The 280 MW Two Rivers Wind Project in Carbon and Albany counties, Wyoming, will generate enough electricity to power over 100,000 homes each year. The project, which was initially developed by Intermountain Wind, is expected to create over 275 jobs during construction as well as multiple permanent positions and represents a $500 million investment in Wyoming’s economy.

Clearway acquired the 152 MW Cedar Creek Wind project in 2021 from rPlus Energies. Located in Bingham County, Idaho, the project will generate enough electricity to power 41,000 homes each year. Cedar Creek Wind will create more than 175 jobs during construction and represents a $250 million investment in Idaho’s economy.

Clearway’s longstanding relationship with PacifiCorp includes a 549 MW solar and wind portfolio in Utah and a 141 MW wind portfolio in Wyoming, both owned and operated by Clearway.

© 2022 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Berkshire Hathaway’s BHE Renewables has entered into an agreement with the State of West Virginia to purchase more than 2,000 acres of land in Ravenswood, West Virginia, to be developed as a first-of-its-kind renewable energy microgrid-powered industrial site.

Berkshire’s Precision Castparts will be the first company to locate on the site and will develop a state-of-the-art titanium melt facility that will use 100% renewable energy to manufacture titanium products for the aerospace and other industries.

The West Virginia Economic Development Authority will work with BHE Renewables to bring additional businesses to the site to take advantage of the prime manufacturing location and renewable energy infrastructure.

“This is a monumental announcement that will pay dividends for generations to come,” Gov. Jim Justice said. “The partnership we are forging with BHE Renewables and PCC is testament to West Virginia’s ability to compete on the world stage and recruit world-class companies like these to our state. I couldn’t be more proud of the fact that West Virginia will help lead the way into a new era of renewable energy microgrid-powered manufacturing. I can never thank BHE Renewables and PCC enough for their commitment to West Virginia and for the jobs and economic ripple effects this partnership will bring.”

“This project demonstrates how investing in clean energy can revive economies that have served our country’s energy needs for decades,” BHE Renewables President and CEO Alicia Knapp said.

“We are thrilled to partner with PCC and West Virginia to deliver this landmark renewable energy solution, hundreds of jobs and significant economic development,” PCC Metals President Steve Wright said. “Our future facility is an outstanding opportunity to use clean energy as we invest in further strengthening our position as a world leader in titanium metals. Manufacturing our products with 100% renewable energy benefits PCC and our customers as we strive to minimize the impact of our operations and wisely use natural resources.”

On Saturday, Gov. Justice called a Special Session of the West Virginia Legislature to consider a bill establishing a “Certified Industrial Business Expansion Development Program,” within the Department of Economic Development, to encourage the continued development, construction, operation, maintenance, and expansion in West Virginia of high impact industrial plants and facilities, in certain circumstances where the availability of electricity generated from renewable sources is demonstrated to be necessary.

At the conclusion of the announcement today, Gov. Justice signed the bill after it passed both houses of the West Virginia Legislature.

Earlier today, the West Virginia Economic Development Authority voted to authorize an agreement for Berkshire Hathaway Energy to purchase more than 2,000 acres of land in Ravenswood, West Virginia. They also voted to approve a high-impact economic development project designation for Timet, which is the world’s largest producer of titanium airplane parts and a subsidiary of Precision Castparts.

“Today’s announcement is fantastic news for the people of West Virginia and domestic manufacturing efforts here in the United State,” United States Senator Joe Manchin said. “I’m excited by Berkshire Hathaway’s decision to invest in the Mountain State and look forward to seeing the benefits of this investment – including long-term, good-paying jobs and supporting our regional economies – for years to come.”

“Today’s announcement that Berkshire Hathaway Energy Renewables and West Virginia have reached an agreement to invest in Ravenswood is welcome news,” United States Senator Shelley Moore Capito said. “This unprecedented project has the potential to rapidly transform the Ravenswood area, and spark the economic development our communities need to grow and thrive. My staff and I have been involved in this process from the very beginning because we recognize the importance of smart economic and environmental growth to our state. I am thankful for the work of Governor Justice, Mike Graney, Mitch Carmichael, and especially Senator Glenn Jefferies and the West Virginia Legislature for helping make this possible. There is strong momentum growing behind business in West Virginia right now, and we must continue to build off of this economic success into the future.”

“It’s teamwork across the board that gets companies just like Berkshire Hathaway Energy Renewables and others to come to the State of West Virginia,” West Virginia State Senate President Craig Blair said. “I hope this is the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship, not just a single announcement”

“To the entire team that made today’s announcement possible, we are deeply thankful for the confidence that you’ve expressed in us,” West Virginia Speaker of the House Roger Hanshaw said. “It’s a privilege for us to be able to create an atmosphere and an environment that allows us to create a 21st century economy and we’re pleased to welcome people who represent everything that a 21st century economy means to the world. Having you here in West Virginia does more than just help the men and women who are going to work in your factory and be in your facility every day. It helps our state, it helps our economy, it helps the entire image of the State of West Virginia to be your partners. Welcome to West Virginia, we are delighted to call you our new friends and our new neighbors.”

“Two world-class companies selected West Virginia because we created the best environment for them to do business,” State Senator Glenn Jeffries said. “That includes being home to a world-class workforce. Something this big doesn’t happen without the ingenuity and work ethic of West Virginians.”

“I’m grateful to Gov. Justice, Secretary Carmichael, and everyone who worked together to secure this transformational development for our Jackson County community,” Delegate Jonathan Pinson said. “Our region and our people have long been poised to kick off this kind of resurgence in manufacturing and 21st century job creation, and I’m incredibly excited about what this most recent economic development announcement will mean for our families and future generations.”

“Our state’s growth-focused economic policies are second-to-none,” West Virginia Secretary of Economic Development Mitch Carmichael said. “West Virginia is investing in smart new ways for businesses to build success around clean energy that’s here to stay.”

© 2022 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Warren Buffett had to look no further than his own Vice Chairman for his latest acquisition. In its just released quarterly report for Q2 2022, Berkshire Hathaway noted that in June it had acquired Vice Chairman Greg Abel’s 1% stake in Berkshire Hathaway Energy for $870 million.

The purchase was at a significant premium and Berkshire took a $362 million charge to capital.

With the acquisition, Berkshire now owns 92% of BHE, with the family of the late Berkshire board director Walter Scott owning the remaining 8%. It is considered likely that Berkshire will acquire that stake as well.

Greg Abel, who is currently overseeing Berkshire’s day-to-day operations, and will take over at some point for Warren Buffett as Chairman, has not commented on the transaction.

In 2000, Berkshire Hathaway made it first acquisition into the energy sector when it acquired MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, later renamed Berkshire Hathaway Energy, for a value of approximately $9 billion. Other investors, who in total invested approximately $300 million, were Walter Scott, the former chairman of Peter Kiewit Sons’ Inc. and MidAmerican’s largest individual shareholder, and certain Scott family interests, and David L. Sokol, who at the time was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MidAmerican. At the time, Greg Abel was MidAmerican’s president.

© 2022 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Berkshire Hathaway Energy and NaturEner USA, LLC have applied to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for BHE to acquire from NaturEner USA its 100 percent upstream equity interests in the NaturEner Wind Project Companies.

The transaction will give BHE roughly 400 MW of wind generation in Montana from three wind farms: Glacier I, Glacier II and Rim Rock.

Glacier 1 operates a 106.5 MW wind-powered generating facility in Glacier and Toole Counties, Montana, and limited interconnection facilities, and is interconnected to the NorthWestern Energy transmission system.

Glacier 2 owns and operates a 103.5 MW wind-powered generating facility in Glacier and Toole Counties, Montana, and limited interconnection facilities, and is interconnected to the Glacier Electric Cooperative transmission system.

Rim Rock owns and operates a 189 MW wind-powered generating facility in Glacier and Toole Counties, Montana, which is interconnected with the transmission facilities of MATL LLP.

BHE Transmission wholly owns MATL, which owns a 230-kV merchant transmission line running from Great Falls, Montana to Lethbridge, Canada.

Berkshire Hathaway Energy and NaturEner USA have requested a shortened comment period of 21 days to allow for the issuance of an order on or before October 3, 2022.

According to their application, a shortened comment period and expedited consideration are appropriate because the Proposed Transaction does not involve a merger, does not require an Appendix A analysis, and is consistent with Commission precedent.

© 2022 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Berkshire Hathaway’s CalEnergy has purchased two large solar farms, Suntop and Gunnedah, totaling 345 MWp in New South Wales, Australia, from Canadian Solar Inc.

The two projects have long-term offtake agreements with a global leading technology company and will help support corporate decarbonization efforts. The projects have reached substantial completion and are expected to generate over 700,000 MWh of green electricity annually. This is equivalent to avoiding more than 450,000 tons of CO2-equivalent emissions annually or taking approximately 100,000 cars off the road each year.

In addition to the sale of these projects, Canadian Solar and CalEnergy also entered into a multi-year development services agreement that provides a framework for the companies to continue to work together to build out Canadian Solar’s growing renewable energy pipeline in Australia.

“We are delighted to work with CalEnergy in Australia to grow their renewable energy portfolio. The sale of these projects in New South Wales paves the way for a strong collaboration between our respective companies. In Australia, we have now brought seven development projects to NTP (notice-to-proceed) and beyond, and continue to develop and grow our multi-GW solar and storage pipeline. I look forward to continuing to contribute to Australia’s decarbonization and renewable energy growth ambitions.” said Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar.

© 2022 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Berkshire Hathaway Energy’s BHE Canada announced that the Rattlesnake Ridge Wind Farm is now commercially operational and supplying low-cost, renewable energy to Alberta’s grid.

The 26-turbine wind farm is located southwest of Medicine Hat. It is the company’s first wind farm in Canada and will provide Alberta consumers with 130 megawatts of energy, enough to power the equivalent of 78,000 homes.

The wind farm is privately financed by BHE Canada through a combination of equity and debt, requiring no government subsidies or tax incentives to support its operation.

“This is an exciting milestone for us, and for Alberta’s energy industry, with new grid-scale wind generation constructed and operating without government subsidies,” said Ed Rihn, President and CEO of BHE Canada. “We’re proud to facilitate a more sustainable energy future for Albertans and look forward to more investment opportunities in Alberta and across Canada.”

BHE Canada signed power purchase agreements with four Canadian corporate partners, providing them with environmental attributes to meet their environmental targets and offset existing carbon production.

Construction began in 2020 with Renewable Energy Systems (RES) providing construction services. RES has extensive experience in building large-scale renewable energy projects around the world. An estimated 150 jobs were provided to local Alberta contractors and suppliers during peak construction.

“The Rattlesnake Wind project is our 20th major renewable construction project in Canada, and we are pleased to see this project achieve commercial operation,” said Liam Duffy, RES General Manager of Construction, Canada. “The addition of this facility showcases our commitment to the construction of wind energy and brings RES closer to fulfilling our vision of a future where everyone has access to affordable zero carbon energy.”

To celebrate the milestone, a ribbon-cutting event was held at the Rattlesnake project site just outside of Medicine Hat. Representatives from BHE Canada and RES were joined by Mr. Grant Hunter, MLA Taber-Warner, and Craig Widmer, Reeve of County of Forty Mile, to help mark the occasion.

“Southern Alberta is home to some of the best supply of wind energy in the world. It is with pleasure that I congratulate BHE Canada on developing the Rattlesnake Ridge Wind Power Project,” said Grant Hunter, MLA Taber-Warner. “The County of Forty Mile will greatly benefit from this renewable wind project, and so will 78,000 homes in Alberta. Rattlesnake stands on its own without any government funding, as Albertans would expect.”

“With southern Alberta being the sunniest and relatively breezy at times, our area provides an exceptional opportunity for renewable energy companies to capture these resources and provide the province with clean renewable energy,” said Craig Widmer, Reeve of County of Forty Mile.

© 2022 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Berkshire Hathaway Energy’s PacifiCorp has received final approval from the Bureau of Land Management for the construction of the 416-mile Energy Gateway South Transmission line.

The Notice to Proceed, issued by the BLM Wyoming State Office in partnership with the agency’s Colorado and Utah State Offices, authorizes PacifiCorp to begin construction of the 500-kilovolt transmission line, which will run from the Aeolus Substation near Medicine Bow, Wyoming, through Colorado, and ends at the Clover Substation near Mona, Utah.

The project is part of PacifiCorp’s larger Energy Gateway Transmission Expansion, a multi-year plan to add approximately 2,000 miles of new transmission lines across the western United States.

The BLM worked with PacifiCorp, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust, federal partners, and the states of Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah to establish an innovative and collaborative approach to mitigating impacts to be caused by the construction of the line. This approach will fund and establish processes for selecting mitigation projects to offset impacts to Greater Sage-Grouse, lands with wilderness characteristics, and other natural resource values across Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah.

“BLM-managed public lands will continue to serve an important role in modernizing the nation’s infrastructure as we advance President Biden’s goal of achieving a net-zero economy by 2050,” said Tracy Stone-Manning, Director of the Bureau of Land Management. “As we build toward a clean energy future, we must make sure we do so responsibly. Approving large-scale transmission projects like this are key to bringing renewable energy online, while creating good-paying union jobs and helping bolster community resilience against the climate crisis.”

© 2022 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Berkshire Hathaway’s Kern River Gas Transmission Company has received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for its proposed 36 miles of 24-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline.

The pipeline will run from Wyoming to Utah to the Intermountain Power Project.

Run by the Intermountain Power Agency, and located in the Great Basin region of western Utah, the IPP currently generates an average of more than 13 million megawatt hours of energy each year from its two coal-fired units. The energy is delivered over the project’s AC and DC transmission systems to 35 participants in the project that principally serve Utah and Southern California.

The new Kern River pipeline will enable the IPP to convert the coal-fired units to cleaner natural gas.

Kern River’s Mike Loeffler noted that the pipeline “will provide needed energy with reduced greenhouse gas emissions to communities in both Utah and California.”

© 2022 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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BHE Renewables has been awarded a $15 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for in support of its lithium extraction from the geothermal brine at its generating facilities in the Salton Sea, California.

The grant will be part of the funding for the construction of a demonstration plant to convert lithium chloride into battery-grade lithium hydroxide in Calipatria, California.

In 2021, the California Energy Commission (CEC) awarded a $6 million grant towards the facility.

Worldwide lithium demand has soared as lithium-ion battery powered cars have moved from the fringe into the mainstream.

The Salton Sea area, one of California’s poorest and most environmentally damaged, may be on the verge of a lithium “gold rush” that could transform the local economy.

“Successful lithium production from geothermal brine could become the catalyst to revive Imperial Valley’s decades-old geothermal power industry, not just creating new jobs but also making the price of baseload geothermal power more cost effective for the benefit of California customers. These two projects represent bold steps in further solidifying the state’s global leadership in renewable energy and sustainability,” Jonathan M. Weisgall, Vice President of Government Relations at Berkshire Hathaway Energy, said.

© 2022 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.