Month: October 2022

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Berkshire Hathaway Energy

Berkshire’s PacifiCorp Inks Long-Term Wind Energy Power Purchase Agreements With Clearway Energy Group

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

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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Lubrizol

Lubrizol and Eaton Developing Turnkey, Sustainable Immersion Cooling Systems

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

The Lubrizol Corporation and the Eaton Corporation have announced a collaboration designed to accelerate development of reliable and sustainable turnkey immersion cooling solutions for data centers, AI, edge and far edge computing applications, today and in the future.

“This partnership will leverage Lubrizol’s market-leading CompuZol™ family of patented thermal management immersion fluids, designed and formulated specifically for data centers and related applications, and Eaton’s leadership in the data center market and comprehensive range of products, services, engineering, and manufacturing solutions,” said Matt Joyce, Vice President, Corporate New Business Development for Lubrizol. “Both of our companies are committed to increasing energy efficiencies and offering sustainable solutions for data centers and digital infrastructure.”

“Eaton is committed to support state-of-the-art physical infrastructure solutions which require the next level of cooling, be it high-performance computing in a data center or remote edge computing sites dealing with a harsh environment. Lubrizol’s thermal management fluids are the perfect solution to address these new challenges and facilitate the deployment of modern IT workloads,” said Hervé Tardy, Vice President, Strategy & Marketing for Eaton CPDI.

Globally, traditional, cloud and hyperscale data centers consume an estimated 150 to 200 terawatt hours of electricity annually, with as much as one-third to one-half going to conventional air-cooling and HVAC systems. With most of the world’s electricity still coming from fossil fuel-based generation sources, the need to reduce energy consumption in data centers is compelling.

Cooling servers by immersing them in specially formulated thermal management fluids in advanced server tanks offers a more sustainable approach and superior cooling, along with greater computing density, energy efficiency, longer server life and deployment flexibility. Immersion cooling also makes greater computing power more accessible in regions of the world where standard air-cooled data centers are challenged due to high ambient temperatures or poor air quality.

© 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 HomeServices

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Expands Brand in Vermont

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices has expanded its presence in Vermont with the addition of Mountain Realty, which will operate as Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Stratton Home.

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Stratton Home is owned and operated by Elyn Bischof, an industry veteran with nearly 4 decades of real estate expertise. Headquartered in Bondville, the office will serve the Stratton, Bromley, and Magic Mountain areas along with Manchester and surrounding towns.

“Vermont has a strong value in the current market and Stratton is no exception,” said Elyn Bischof, President, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Stratton Home. “For the past several years, there has been heightened interest in the market among Buyers from the Cities and other parts of the Country wanting to relocate to our beautiful Stratton Mountain area. This affiliation with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices positively positions our team to meet this demand.”

“This is an exciting time in real estate,” said Christy Budnick, CEO, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. “The Stratton real estate market is uniquely positioned for a growth-filled future, and I could not be more thrilled to welcome Elyn and her phenomenal team, to assist them in bringing their local market the real estate experience they deserve.”

By joining the network, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Stratton Home agents gain access to Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices’ active referral and relocation networks, and its “FOREVER Cloud” technology suite, a powerful source for lead generation, marketing support, social media, video production/distribution and more.

The brand also provides an exclusive Luxury Collection marketing program for premier listings. Its Prestige Magazine showcases network members’ premium listings with a strong lineup of feature stories covering topics that appeal to high-end real estate clients.

© 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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Lessons From Warren Buffett

Lessons From Warren Buffett: Always Think of Stocks as Businesses

There are so many complicated investing schemes, but for Warren Buffett it all comes down to capital allocation.

“If you understand business, you understand investments,” Warren Buffett said at the 1998 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting. “Investments are simply business decisions in terms of capital allocation.”

Hear Buffett’s full explanation

See the complete Lessons From Warren Buffett series

© 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 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.

Categories
Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Names Anselm Waigand to Head of Risk Engineering, Germany

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance has appointed Anselm Waigand as Head of Risk Engineering, Germany. He was previously Senior Risk Engineer at BHSI in Frankfurt, Germany.

“Anselm has been at the forefront of our efforts to expand our risk engineering team and capabilities in Germany and throughout the region,” said Leander Metzger, Head of Property, Engineered Lines and Risk Engineering, DACH region. “I am so pleased to have him now leading our growing risk engineering team in Germany as we deploy our deep technical expertise locally in Europe.”

Anselm joined BHSI in 2020, and has more than 15 years of engineering experience at major global insurers. He holds a degree in Civil/Structural Engineering from Technical University Darmstadt, Germany.

He will continue to be based in Frankfurt.

© 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.

Categories
Insurance

Berkshire Has $70 Million That It Needs to Put To Work

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway now has another $70 million that it needs to invest.

Seritage Growth Properties, a national owner and developer of 150 retail, residential and mixed-use properties, has announced that on September 30, 2022, it made a voluntary prepayment of $70 million toward its $1.6 billion term loan facility provided by Berkshire Hathaway Life Insurance Company of Nebraska.

With the prepayment, $1.27 billion of the term loan facility remains outstanding. The prepayment will also reduce Seritage’s total annual interest expense related to the term loan facility by approximately $4.9 million.

© 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.

Categories
BNSF

BNSF to Make Barstow Home to New $1.5 Billion Integrated Rail Complex

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

BNSF Railway will invest more than $1.5 billion to construct a state-of-the-art master-planned rail facility in Southern California – and the first being developed by a Class 1 railroad.

The Barstow International Gateway will be an approximately 4,500-acre new integrated rail facility on the west side of Barstow, consisting of a rail yard, intermodal facility and warehouses for transloading freight from international containers to domestic containers.

The facility will allow the direct transfer of containers from ships at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to trains for transport through the Alameda Corridor onto the BNSF mainline up to Barstow.

Once the containers reach the Barstow International Gateway, they will be processed at the facility using clean-energy powered cargo-handling equipment, and then staged and built into trains moving east via BNSF’s network across the nation.

Westbound freight will similarly be processed at the facility to more efficiently bring trains to the ports and other California terminals.

“By allowing for more efficient transfer of cargo directly between ships and rail, the Barstow International Gateway will maximize rail and distribution efficiency regionally and across the U.S. supply chain and reduce truck traffic and freeway congestion in the Los Angeles Basin and the Inland Empire,” said Katie Farmer, President and CEO of BNSF. “This will play a critical role in improving fluidity throughout our rail network, moving containers off the ports quicker, and facilitating improved efficiency at our existing intermodal hubs, including those in the Midwest and Texas. The facility will also have an important positive economic impact, including the creation of new, local railroad jobs.” said Farmer.

“The significance of BNSF’s investment to improve the supply chain here in California cannot be overstated. Rail plays a critical role in moving goods safely and efficiently, while reducing emissions due to congestion in many of our high-traffic corridors,” said Trelynd Bradley, Deputy Director of Sustainable Freight and Supply Chain Development at the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development. He added, “Projects like BNSF’s will work to strengthen our inland local economies, such as that of Barstow in San Bernardino County. We look forward to continuing to work with projects like these, as well as others, to drive transformative investments that will enhance and elevate California’s supply chain ecosystem for a more efficient and resilient tomorrow.”

“BNSF’s planned Barstow International Gateway will improve cargo velocity through our port and reduce truck traffic on our freeways,” said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka. “This project will help ensure that goods moving through the San Pedro Bay will get to consumers, businesses and manufacturers with speed and reliability.”

© 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.

Categories
Lessons From Warren Buffett

Lessons From Warren Buffett: Can’t Find a Good Investment? Beware Enlarging Your Circle

Every investor has a circle of competency that encompasses the companies and types of investments that they understand. What do you do when you can’t find anything that fits in that circle? In Warren Buffett’s case, he prefers to wait rather than hoping he can enlarge the circle.

“If we have trouble finding things within our circle, we will not enlarge the circle,” Warren Buffett said at the 1995 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting. “You know, we’ll wait. That’s our approach.”

Warren Buffett is quick to point out that just because something in not in your circle of competency, it doesn’t mean it isn’t in somebody else’s. What Buffett understands when it comes to technology companies and what Bill Gates understands are vastly different. However, Buffett wants to understand it himself, not just take a recommendation from someone more expert than him.

Hear Buffett’s full explanation

See the complete Lessons From Warren Buffett series

© 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 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.