Month: July 2018

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Berkshire Hathaway Energy

Berkshire Hathaway Makes New Vestas Turbine Purchases

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Vestas Wind Systems A/S has received an order from Berkshire Hathaway-owned utility PacifiCorp to repower two of its wind parks in the state of Washington.

Vestas will supply 216 MW of its V100-2.0 MW turbines, excluding towers, for the Marengo and Marengo II wind farms.

The order will replace the existing V80-1.8 MW turbines at the decade-old wind farms.

“As wind technology continues to advance at a rapid pace, repowering enables Vestas and our customers to update existing projects with the latest technology to unlock even more energy production and dramatically lower operating costs, extending the lifetime benefits of these projects,” Chris Brown, president of Vestas sales and service division in the US and Canada, said.

Berkshire recently placed an order with Vestas in December 2017 for its MidAmerican Energy subsidiary. That order for 70 MW of V110-2.0 MW turbines was for its Wind XI wind farm in Iowa.

© 2018 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 the 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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Minority Stock Positions Stock Portfolio

BYD opens World’s Largest Battery Factory

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

New energy company BYD has announced the opening of what it bills as the world’s largest battery manufacturing plant. The plant is located in the western province of Qinghai.

The facility has commenced manufacturing batteries, but the entire facility will not be fully completed until the end of 2019.

The plant is designed to keep up with the demands of a company that has become the world leader in battery powered cars.

The new plant has a capacity of 24 GWh, as BYD aims to increase its total manufacturing capacity to 60 GWh by 2020.

This is BYD’s third battery factory in China, with factories already in Shenzhen and Huizhou.

“Electrification is a done deal as several countries have announced a deadline for the sale of internal combustion engine cars to end. Electric vehicles are on the cusp of another boom,” said BYD President and Chairman Wang Chuanfu.

BYD and Berkshire Hathaway

In 2008, Berkshire Hathaway bet on BYD’s potential, purchasing 225 million shares. It’s an investment that has paid off handsomely. Berkshire’s original investment of $230 million has grown in value almost ten-fold, and is now worth roughly $1.96 billion.

For More on BYD, read the Special Report: BYD, Berkshire’s Tesla.

© 2018 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 the 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.