Buffett's MidAmerican Starts Renewable-Energy Business
January 24 2012 - 4:32PM
Dow Jones News
The MidAmerican Energy unit of Warren Buffett's Berkshire
Hathaway Inc. (BRKA, BRKB) said Tuesday it has started a new
company to oversee a growing stable of solar, wind and other
renewable-energy projects.
MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., of Des Moines, said it has
placed solar and wind farms, geothermal power plants and its
interest in a small hydroelectric project into a new company called
MidAmerican Renewables LLC.
MidAmerican's president and chief executive, Greg Abel, said the
company expects U.S. demand for renewable energy to continue
growing and that the company wants "to be a leader in this
area."
On Monday, MidAmerican said it plans to buy an 81-megawatt wind
farm in Illinois from Invenergy Wind LLC as part of the company's
growing wholesale renewable-energy business. Terms of the deal
weren't disclosed.
The wind farm has a contract to sell the electricity it
generates to Ameren Corp.'s (AEE) Illinois utility.
In December, MidAmerican said it would buy a $2 billion
California solar farm from First Solar Inc. (FSLR) and that it
would acquire a 49% share of a $1.8 billion solar-power plant owned
by NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) that First Solar is building in the
Arizona desert. Both solar facilities have long-term power purchase
agreements with PG&E Corp.'s (PCG) California utility.
MidAmerican already owns and operates geothermal power
facilities in California, which use underground heat and steam to
generate electricity, and it owns half of a 10-megawatt
hydroelectric project in Hawaii that generates electricity without
dams.
MidAmerican Renewables said it is considering acquiring more
renewable-energy projects that would generate electricity for the
wholesale power market to meet growing demand for clean energy.
"We'll be looking for opportunities to grow this business," said
Tina Potthoff, a spokeswoman for MidAmerican. "We think there's a
growing desire by utilities and other companies to green up their
business."
-By Cassandra Sweet, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-439-6468;
cassandra.sweet@dowjones.com
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