Buffett believes that solar is rising. A $2 billion solar project in California is now part of Warren Buffett's investment empire. First Solar sold the 550 megawatt Topaz Project that has a 25-year power purchase agreement from Pacific Gas and Electric and that is now under construction in California to Buffett's MidAmerican Energy.
The power purchase agreement for the power from Topaz makes Buffett's investment very low risk and probably lucrative. Buffett is no fool, as shown by his bank account.
But another point in this story should be underlined. This one solar plant is 550 megawatts and is more solar than the entire country had installed from its founding until 2008. At the end of 2011, the US will have about 4,000 megawatts of solar operating, and that does not include the Topaz solar plant. The solar revolution is quickly moving into a higher gear.
Will Buffett make more investments in solar? It sounds like it, given these words from the CEO of MidAmerican, as quoted in the Los Angeles Times:
"We believe the underlying cost structure of their technology is very reasonable. Their technology is proven and can be implemented at a utility scale level." www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-buffett-solar-20111208,0,6937593.story.
I can see heads exploding in certain quarters.
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