Tag: Berkshire Hathaway Energy

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It’s going to be a very nice Christmas indeed for Berkshire Hathaway’s NV Energy.

After a month-long delay, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has authorized NV Energy to enter the western Energy Imbalance Market (EIM), a move that will save NV Energy millions a year.

The California Independent System Operator Corporation (ISO) and NV Energy have begun implementing the final steps needed to begin full and financially binding participation in the real-time market on December 1, 2015.

NV Energy was originally scheduled to join the western Energy Imbalance Market on November 1.

Millions in Projected Savings

NV Energy will save millions annually, with its attributed share of gross benefits estimated to range from $6 million to $10 million in 2017, and from $8 million to $12 million by 2022.

Berkshire’s PacifiCorp Already Saving Millions

In 2014, when Berkshire Hathaway Energy’s PacifiCorp agreed to become the first participant in the new Energy Imbalance Market, it was touted as a way to balance electricity in-flows and out-flows on a regional basis that would bring millions of dollars in benefits to participating utilities.

The predicted benefits for PacifiCorp have proven to be true, and the California Independent Service Operator (CAISO) has been able to quantify the benefits for the year so far were over $33 million.

About the Energy Imbalance Market

The EIM improves the integration of renewable resources and increases reliability by sharing information between balancing authorities on electricity delivery conditions across the entire EIM region. The only real-time energy market in the Western U.S., advanced ISO market systems automatically balance supply and demand for electricity every fifteen minutes, dispatching the least-cost resources every five minutes.

© 2015 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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Berkshire Hathaway’s MidAmerican Energy Company is building the tallest land-based wind turbine ever built in the United States.

The new wind farm in Adams County, Iowa, will include a first for the company – a concrete wind turbine tower.

“Advancements in turbine design and construction techniques are opening up new opportunities for development of renewable resources,” Mike Gehringer, vice president, renewable energy, said. “We want to continue to lead in bringing innovative energy solutions to our customers and the state of Iowa.”

Siemens has been hired for the supply and construction of the new concrete tower design.
Gehringer noted that both companies view this tower as a prototype that could serve as the model for other concrete turbine towers at future wind farms and could open up low-to-medium wind resource areas of Iowa for future wind development.

“The process of building a concrete tower is quite different from the process we use to construct turbines with steel towers,” Gehringer said. “Instead of building the tower sections in a factory and transporting them to the site to be fitted together, crews pour the concrete in segments and manufacture the tower onsite.”

Using concrete in place of steel provides the option to install a taller wind turbine that can capture more wind energy. “Generally speaking, the higher the altitude, the greater the wind resource available,” Gehringer said.

The 2.3-megawatt concrete tower turbine at the Adams wind farm will measure 377 feet from ground to hub, compared to 263 feet for most of the turbines in use at other MidAmerican Energy wind farms. With blades extended, the turbine will reach a height of 554 feet, making it about as tall as the Washington Monument.

The concrete turbine is one of 64 wind turbines planned for the Adams wind farm.

Construction is underway on the 154-megawatt project, and all turbines are scheduled to be erected by the end of 2015.

About MidAmerican Energy Company

A wholly-owned unit of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, MidAmerican Energy Company provides electric service to 746,000 customers and natural gas service to 726,000 customers in Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and South Dakota.

© 2015 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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Berkshire Hathaway’s utility NV Energy will not be entering the western Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) on November 1, as originally planned.

The California Independent System Operator Corporation (ISO) and NV Energy are delaying the date for the Nevada-based utility to begin financially binding participation in the western Energy Imbalance Market (EIM).

The two companies are ready to proceed with full EIM participation and are awaiting the final authorization to proceed from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

The ISO will implement the entry of NV Energy as an EIM entity only on the first of the month. The ISO and NV Energy said that they will announce the date of NV Energy’s EIM implementation promptly upon authorization by FERC.

Millions in Projected Savings

NV Energy will save millions annually, with its attributed share of gross benefits estimated to range from $6 million to $10 million in 2017, and from $8 million to $12 million by 2022.

Savings Are Already Happening for Berkshire

In 2014, when Berkshire Hathaway Energy’s PacifiCorp agreed to become the first participant in the new Energy Imbalance Market (EIM), it was touted as a way to balance electricity in-flows and out-flows on a regional basis that would bring millions of dollars in benefits to participating utilities.

The predicted benefits for PacifiCorp have proven to be true, and the California Independent Service Operator (CAISO) has been able to quantify the benefits for the year so far were over $33 million.

About the Energy Imbalance Market

The EIM improves the integration of renewable resources and increases reliability by sharing information between balancing authorities on electricity delivery conditions across the entire EIM region. The only real-time energy market in the Western U.S., advanced ISO market systems automatically balance supply and demand for electricity every fifteen minutes, dispatching the least-cost resources every five minutes.

© 2015 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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Berkshire Hathaway’s utility PacifiCorp has saved over $33 million so far this year through the new the western Energy Imbalance Market.

California Independent System Operator (ISO) reports that the gross benefits realized in the 2015 third quarter have totaled $12 million, bringing the total benefits since the market’s launch in November 2014 to $33.41 million.

In 2014, Berkshire Hathaway Energy’s PacifiCorp agreed to become the first participant in a new Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) as a way to balance electricity in-flows and out-flows on a regional basis and bring millions of dollars in benefits to participating utilities.

The EIM began financially-binding operation on November 1, 2014, by optimizing resources across the ISO and PacifiCorp’s balancing authority areas (BAAs), which includes California, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Idaho and Wyoming.

The EIM improves the integration of renewable resources and increases reliability by sharing information between balancing authorities on electricity delivery conditions across the entire EIM region.

Summer Brought Greater Economic Benefits

According to California Independent System Operator, the 3rd quarter saw greater economic values from the EIM five-minute market transfers made during the hot summer months. July saw the greatest amount of benefits, $5.69 million, followed by $3.32 million and $2.99 million for August and September, respectively. Interregional transfers lowered supply costs in one EIM balancing area to meet demand in another. The Q3 benefit of $12 million was 18 percent higher than the previous quarter and reflects the seasonal variation in system and market conditions.

Environmental Benefits Too

In addition to the economic benefits produced by interregional transfers, environmental benefits were also achieved through avoiding curtailment of renewable resources in the ISO balancing area. The total avoided curtailment for Q3 was 828 megawatt-hours, which is less than last quarter as there were fewer transfers from the ISO to PacifiCorp, the EIM’s current participant, because of high prices in the ISO area. Avoiding curtailment in Q3 displaced an estimated 354 metric tons of carbon dioxide that would have been produced if the renewable resources had been forced to reduce generation output.

© 2015 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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A study commissioned by PacifiCorp and conducted by Energy and Environmental Economics (E3), which looked at combining the electric grids operated by PacifiCorp
and the California Independent System Operator (ISO) to create a regional power marketplace, finds there could be billions in savings over the next 20 years.

The combined grids would not only reduce energy costs, but would also help states meet tough environmental goals, including California’s 50 percent renewable energy mark.

The Savings Are Already Happening

In 2014, when Berkshire Hathaway Energy’s PacifiCorp agreed to become the first participant in the new Energy Imbalance Market (EIM), it was touted as a way to balance electricity in-flows and out-flows on a regional basis that would bring millions of dollars in benefits to participating utilities.

The predicted benefits for PacifiCorp have proven to be true, and the California Independent Service Operator (CAISO) has been able to quantify the benefits from the April, May, and June 2015 to be $10.18 million. Annual benefits will be around $30 million.

The EIM improves the integration of renewable resources and increases reliability by sharing information between balancing authorities on electricity delivery conditions across the entire EIM region. The only real-time energy market in the Western U.S., advanced ISO market systems automatically balance supply and demand for electricity every fifteen minutes, dispatching the least-cost resources every five minutes.

Creating a regional ISO

The new study finds that integrating the two largest high-voltage transmission grids in the West to create a regional ISO could produce between $3.4 billion and $9.1 billion in shared cost reductions in the first 20 years through better grid management and efficiencies gained by planning for the resource needs of a single, rather than multiple systems.

Environmental Benefits Too

The study also projects that development of a regional ISO is likely to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through coordinated planning, reduced curtailment of renewable energy, and lower overall costs to build new renewable resources.

“The study clearly highlights the benefits of a regional grid for all customers,” said Steve Berberich, President and CEO of the ISO. “It shows that a regional grid creates the opportunity to integrate higher levels of renewables more efficiently and effectively across a more diverse area. This regional approach is foundational to support the historic California SB 350 legislation and carbon reduction goals of nearby states.”

Another of Berkshire Hathaway’s utilities, NV Energy, which serves the Nevada market, will save millions a year when it enters the Energy Imbalance Market on Nov. 1, 2015.

© 2015 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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Berkshire Hathaway Energy has borrowed $275 Million for its Jumbo Road wind farm, according to Bloomberg News.

Mizuho Financial Group Inc. led the 10-year financing with CoBank Financial Corp., Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. also participating.

Bloomberg reports that pricing started at 162.5 basis points over the London interbank offered rate.

Located in the Texas Panhandle, the Jumbo Road wind farm began commercial operation in April 2015. The wind farm has 162 wind turbines with the capacity to generate approximately 300 megawatts of power, and can power up to 600,000 homes when fully operative.

Built by Lincoln Clean Energy, LLC, and owned and operated by TX Jumbo Road Wind, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway’s BHE Renewables, Jumbo Road supplies electricity to Austin Energy. The utility is the nation’s eighth largest publicly-owned electric utility, and is a department of the City of Austin.

The state of Texas leads the nation in wind power, with 10% of its energy needs met by wind-generation. The growth in wind energy was fueled in part by the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard, which was signed into law by then governor George W. Bush in 1999, and later expanded in 2005.

Texas quickly surpassed its goal of developing 5,880 megawatts of renewable energy by 2015, and has now exceeded its nonbinding target of 10,000 megawatts by 2025. A key component in the Renewable Portfolio Standard is a renewable energy credit trading program.

© 2015 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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Berkshire Hathaway Energy’s NV Energy, which serves the Nevada market, will save millions a year when it enters the new Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) that debuted earlier this year.

The utility company is expected to enter the EIM on Nov. 1, 2015.

Millions in Projected Savings

NV Energy will save millions annually, with its attributed share of gross benefits estimated to range from $6 million to $10 million in 2017, and from $8 million to $12 million by 2022.

The Savings Are Real

In 2014, when Berkshire Hathaway Energy’s PacifiCorp agreed to become the first participant in the new EIM, it was touted as a way to balance electricity in-flows and out-flows on a regional basis that would bring millions of dollars in benefits to participating utilities.

The predicted benefits for PacifiCorp have proven to be true, and the California Independent Service Operator (CAISO) has been able to quantify the benefits from the April, May, and June 2015 to be $10.18 million. Annual benefits will be around $30 million.

The EIM improves the integration of renewable resources and increases reliability by sharing information between balancing authorities on electricity delivery conditions across the entire EIM region. The only real-time energy market in the Western U.S., advanced ISO market systems automatically balance supply and demand for electricity every fifteen minutes, dispatching the least-cost resources every five minutes.

In its July report, CAISO said that it, “continues to prove EIM’s ability to select the lowest cost resource across the PacifiCorp and ISO balancing authority areas to serve demand and measures benefits within the following categories, which were described in an earlier study conducted by Energy + Environmental Economics (E3)1 for PacifiCorp and the ISO.”

The report noted:

• More efficient dispatch, both inter- and intra-regional, in the Fifteen-Minute Market (FMM) and Real-Time Dispatch (RTD) by automating dispatch every fifteen minutes and every five minutes within PacifiCorp’s two BAAs and between the PacifiCorp and California ISO BAAs.

• Reduced renewable energy curtailment by allowing BAAs to export or reduce imports of renewable generation when it would otherwise need to be economically curtailed.

• Reduced flexibility reserves needed in PacifiCorp BAAs, which saves cost by aggregating the load, wind, and solar variability and forecast errors of the combined EIM footprint. This report introduces the flexibility reserve benefits for PacifiCorp but defers measurement of reduced flexibility reserve benefits for the ISO to future reports due to the need to develop additional measurement techniques.

By allowing Balancing Authorities to pool load and wind and solar resources, an EIM lowers total flexibility reserve requirements and reduce curtailment of wind and solar generation for the region as a whole, lowering costs for customers. An EIM may also help to improve compliance with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Order 764, which emphasizes 15‐ minute scheduling over interties but may not be implemented on an optimized basis due to the difficulty of bilateral trading on such short time intervals.

© 2015 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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Even as Berkshire Hathaway Energy becomes one of the biggest players in utility scale renewable energy, including owning one of the world’s largest solar farms located in San Luis Obispo County, California, Berkshire continues to battle residential rooftop solar.

Berkshire’s utility, NV Energy, which it purchased in 2013, has been trying to slow the growth of residential solar in Nevada, a state with an average of 294 annual days of sunshine.

NV Energy has been trying to hold the line on the state’s net energy metering (NEM) cap of 235 megawatts, which rooftop solar companies claim means the loss of thousands of jobs now that the cap for 2015 has been reached.

Proof of their fears have come true. Vivint Solar, the nation’s number two U.S. rooftop solar installer, has already left Nevada, after only opening for business in July 2015.

A 3-Tiered Rate Structure

NV Energy, which serves 1.3 million customers throughout Nevada, has been pushing for a new 3-tiered rate structure.

In its application before the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada, Nevada Power, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NV Energy, notes that “Nevada Power’s data demonstrates that customers who install renewable distributed generation have unique load and cost characteristics. Net metering customers are partial requirements customers requiring a standby aspect to their electrical service, have different metering and customer service and customer accounting requirements, and have different load factors and load levels.”

The company also says that rates must be “just, reasonable and fair to all customers and reduce the shifting of costs from customer-generators to other customers…”

Buy Solar, Pay More?

One of the areas of dispute with rooftop solar owners is on fees that NV Energy wants to add, including a demand charge. The charge is particularly unpopular and solar advocates assert that it could actually make rooftop solar unviable, as the costs could actually be higher than the electricity purchased from the utility.

The utility acknowledges that situation, noting:

“To be clear, those who choose to install renewable distributed generation (“DG”) can reduce their Nevada Power bill under the NEM2 rules and rates, even though a customer who installs renewable DG might end up paying more for energy when the cost of buying or leasing the DG system, or purchasing the output of the DG system is taken into consideration.”

In addition to the demand charge, NV Energy has proposed a monthly basic service charge and an energy charge.

In NV Power’s application the utility is asking for “four new standard net metering schedules, four new optional net metering schedules, a new net metering rider, seven modified schedules and modifications to Rule 9 and 15…”

The utility asserts the demand charge and other proposed fees are necessary, as many customers are paying little or no electric bill, even as they continue to utilize the existing grid structure to sell back electricity generated by rooftop solar and to draw on utility generated electricity at night.

Not So Fast

During its hearing on August 26, the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada was in no hurry to implement the proposed demand charge and put off any decision. NV Power had pushed for an interim order to make the new charges effective on September 15, 2015. The lack of approval represented a setback for NV Energy, and an at least temporary victory for rooftop solar companies and their customers.

Opposition from Senator Reid

Senator Harry Reid of Nevada has very publicly opposed NV Energy’s position.

“This challenge should begin by properly valuing rooftop solar, properly valuing energy efficiency and properly valuing other distributed sources of clean energy,” Reid said at his eighth annual National Clean Energy Summit. “Ignoring these resources or treating them as a burden makes as much sense as the Washington Nationals benching Bryce Harper. Rather than fighting change, utilities should be integrating new technologies into their business models.”

Reid added:

“If NV Energy continues on the path they’re on, they’re going to lose.”

© 2015 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 in

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$30 million in annual savings would make most investors wobbly, but in Berkshire Hathaway’s case it is making them more balanced.

In 2014, when Berkshire Hathaway Energy’s PacifiCorp agreed to become the first participant in a new Energy Imbalance Market (EIM), the market was touted as a way to balance electricity in-flows and out-flows on a regional basis that would bring millions of dollars in benefits to participating utilities.

The EIM began financially-binding operation on November 1, 2014, by optimizing resources across the ISO and PacifiCorp’s balancing authority areas (BAAs), which includes California, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Idaho and Wyoming.

The EIM improves the integration of renewable resources and increases reliability by sharing information between balancing authorities on electricity delivery conditions across the entire EIM region.

Tens of Millions in Benefits a Year

The predicted benefits have proven to be true, and the California Independent Service Operator (CAISO) has been able to quantify the benefits from the April, May, and June 2015 to be $10.18 million.

In its July report, CAISO said that it, “continues to prove EIM’s ability to select the lowest cost resource across the PacifiCorp and ISO balancing authority areas to serve demand and measures benefits within the following categories, which were described in an earlier study conducted by Energy + Environmental Economics (E3)1 for PacifiCorp and the ISO.”

The report noted:

• More efficient dispatch, both inter- and intra-regional, in the Fifteen-Minute Market (FMM) and Real-Time Dispatch (RTD) by automating dispatch every fifteen minutes and every five minutes within PacifiCorp’s two BAAs and between the PacifiCorp and California ISO BAAs.

• Reduced renewable energy curtailment by allowing BAAs to export or reduce imports of renewable generation when it would otherwise need to be economically curtailed.

• Reduced flexibility reserves needed in PacifiCorp BAAs, which saves cost by aggregating the load, wind, and solar variability and forecast errors of the combined EIM footprint. This report introduces the flexibility reserve benefits for PacifiCorp but defers measurement of reduced flexibility reserve benefits for the ISO to future reports due to the need to develop additional measurement techniques.

© 2015 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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NV Energy, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, has reached a settlement in regards to the Reid Gardner Generating Station, which is located near Moapa, Nevada.

The $4.3 million settlement comes as NV Energy is working to close the plant as the result of a 2013 vote by the Nevada Assembly to shut down the plant, which was one of the nation’s dirtiest.

Three of the plant’s 100-megawatt generating units have already been decommissioned, and the remaining 257-megawatt generating unit is scheduled to cease operation in 2017.

Settlement to Bring Health and Wellness Benefits

$1.5 million of the settlement, which is the result of a lawsuit filed by the Moapa Band of Paiutes and the Sierra Club, will go to provide a community health wellness center on the Moapa Band of Paiute Indians reservation.

The remaining $2.7 million of the settlement will be used to monitor air quality and purchase water rights.

The settlement will be paid by NV Energy and NV Energy and the California Department of Water Resources.

The Moapa Band of Paiutes has long complained of respiratory problems related to coal ash. They have been supported in their efforts to close the plant by Nevada senator Harry Reid.

Senator Reid welcomed news of the settlement.

“For years the band has suffered the consequences of breathing dangerous dirty air from the Reid-Gardner coal plant and this settlement is a step forward. While the settlement will provide relief and help make the tribe’s home healthier and safer, no amount of money can pay for the sickness caused by a half-century of pollution from the coal plant. The Moapa Band of Paiutes and all Nevadans deserve a clean, healthy environment to raise their families in and pass on to their children.”

A Dwindling Number of Coal-Fired Plants

Most of Nevada Energy’s power comes from cleaner-burning natural gas generating stations, however the company still produces power from the 255 megawatt coal-fired Navajo Generating Station in Page, Arizona, and the 522 megawatt coal-fired North Valmy Generating Station in Valmy, Nevada. Both plants are partially owned by NV Energy.

On July 28, 2014, the EPA finalized a plan to cut pollution from the Navajo Generating Station in order to reduce the haze around nearby national parks and wilderness areas.

Berkshire Moves Toward Renewable Energy

Berkshire Hathaway Energy has already invested more than $15 billion in renewable energy generation projects that are under construction and in operation through 2014, and has pledged to invest up to an additional $15 billion going forward.

© 2015 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.