Skip to main content
Donate

Warren Buffett Snatches Up Two California Solar Plants

By Chris Clarke
January 3, 2013
Support Provided By
warren-buffet-1-3-13-thumb-600x453-42794

Warren Buffett | Photo: Javier/Flickr/Creative Commons License

Energy mogul Warren Buffett has added a couple of sizable pieces to his collection of California renewable energy facilities with the purchase of the Antelope Valley Solar Plants (AVSP) from San Jose-based SunPower, both parties announced Wednesday. The 579-megawatt project is proposed for an array of parcels of what is now farmland astride the Los Angeles-Kern county line west of Lancaster.

AVSP, which will generate power using tracking photovoltaic panels, is slated to begin construction this year and should be completed by end-2015. The CPUC approved two power purchase agreements between developer SunPower and Southern California Edison last year. The project has drawn criticism for what local residents say was inadequate public notice of the environmental review process. With the nearby Antelope Valley Solar Ranch already under construction, and the valley's fringing mountains ground zero for aggressive wind development, Antelope Valley residents are bearing the brunt of California's push for renewable energy development.

The sale to MidAmerican Solar will keep SunPower in charge of construction and operation of the facilities. MidAmerican Solar is a subsidiary of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, itself wholly owned by Warren Buffett's conglomerate holding company Berkshire Hathaway.

MidAmerican Solar already owns the 550-megawatt Topaz solar project in San Luis Obispo County's Carrizo plain. MidAmerican Energy Holdings also owns ten geothermal plants in Imperial County and 300 megawatts' worth of wind turbines in the Tehachapis just north of AVSP.

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