Skip to main content
Donate

Warren Buffett Buys California Wind Facility

By Chris Clarke
October 3, 2012
Support Provided By
Alta-Wind-2007-10-3-12-thumb-600x400-37278

The site of Alta Wind Energy Center in 2007 | Photo: Chris Clarke

MidAmerican Wind, a division of natural gas tycoon Warren Buffett's MidAmerican Renewables, has bought 300 megawatts-worth of wind turbines in the Tehachapi mountains. The company announced late last week that it would buy the Alta Wind VII and IX projects from developer California Highwind Power, a subsidiary of Terra-Gen Power.

The two components of the massive Alta Wind Energy Center (AWEC) began construction in April 2012. When they're completed, Alta Wind VI and IX will deliver power to Southern California Edison under a power purchase agreement that extends until 2035.

MidAmerican Renewables' parent company MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company is wholly owned by Warren Buffett's conglomerate holding company Berkshire Hathaway.

AWEC will reach a total of 1.32 gigawatts of generating capacity when the units are finished. The complex covers 3,200 acres in the Tehachapis near Mojave, and was begun when Alta Wind units I through V broke ground in June 2010.

"With the addition of this 300-megawatt wind project, MidAmerican Renewables' portfolio includes more than 1,250 megawatts of owned renewable energy assets, enabling us to help meet the need for energy generated from renewable resources," Bill Fehrman, president of MidAmerican Renewables, said in a press release. "We are excited about this project and look forward to finding more opportunities to own and operate renewable energy resources that support our core principle of environmental respect."

MidAmerican Renewables owns geothermal, solar, and hydroelectric generating facilities as well as wind. The company owns ten geothermal plants in Imperial County, the Topaz Solar Farm in eastern San Luis Obispo County's Carrizo Plains, and the Agua Caliente solar project east of Yuma, Arizona.

If you're wondering what happened to Alta Wind VIII, Terra-Gen sold that 150-megawatt facility to Brookfield Renewables earlier this year.

ReWire is dedicated to covering renewable energy in California. Keep in touch by liking us on Facebook, and help shape our editorial direction by taking this quick survey here.

Support Provided By
Read More
Gray industrial towers and stacks rise up from behind the pitched roofs of warehouse buildings against a gray-blue sky, with a row of yellow-gold barrels with black lids lined up in the foreground to the right of a portable toilet.

California Isn't on Track To Meet Its Climate Change Mandates. It's Not Even Close.

According to the annual California Green Innovation Index released by Next 10 last week, California is off track from meeting its climate goals for the year 2030, as well as reaching carbon neutrality by 2045.
By Alejandro Lazo, CalMatters
A row of cows stands in individual cages along a line of light-colored enclosures, placed along a dirt path under a blue sky dotted with white puffy clouds.

A Battle Is Underway Over California’s Lucrative Dairy Biogas Market

California is considering changes to a program that has incentivized dairy biogas, to transform methane emissions into a source of natural gas. Neighbors are pushing for an end to the subsidies because of its impact on air quality and possible water pollution.
By Emma Foehringer Merchant, Inside Climate News
A Black woman with long, black brains wears a black Chicago Bulls windbreaker jacket with red and white stripes as she stands at the top of a short staircase in a housing complex and rests her left hand on the metal railing. She smiles slightly while looking directly at the camera.

Los Angeles County Is Testing AI's Ability To Prevent Homelessness

In order to prevent people from becoming homeless before it happens, Los Angeles County officials are using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to predict who in the county is most likely to lose their housing. They would then step in to help those people with their rent, utility bills, car payments and more so they don't become unhoused.
By Marisa Kendall, CalMatters