About a decade ago, green energy advocates were promoting the use of solar energy, claiming it would power the entire world. The government got behind the green energy idea and started pumping billions of dollars into the industry. Solar stocks were sky high. However, the solar power dream did not take off like people hoped it would, mainly because of the high costs of manufacturing and installing panels. Over time, the solar power game improved and now it is selling for a lot less than before. It is a very promising time for solar power, which is why Warren Buffett is getting behind it.
NV Energy
One of Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway companies is currently backing a project to build the largest solar power plant in the U.S. The subsidiary NV Energy will use the electricity that is generated by a 690-megawatt solar-energy plant in order to build on federal land in Nevada. This will beat another solar plant’s current record of 579 megawatts.
The Bureau of Land Management has released a statement announcing that they will be approving Buffett’s project after a 90 day comment period. The project will be generating power for all NV Energy companies, and will create 1.19 gigawatts of new power for NV. This amount of power will be enough to provide power to about 230,000 homes. And when the sun isn’t shining, the company will store 590 megawatts of power generated by solar panels. The project will cost about $38.44 per megawatt hour under a 25 year contract.
The Future Of Solar Power
Trump has opposed the solar power movement, including turning down the idea of extending tax incentives for solar power. However, federal officials are applauding Buffett and the project. Buffett has always been a supporter of environmental action, although he has been criticized in the past for opposing “net metering,” which is a billing mechanism that credits solar energy system owners for the electricity they add to the grid.
It is clear that solar power is making a comeback, at a more cost effective rate. The state of Nevada has mandated that utilities get half of their power from renewable energy by 2030. Other states are participating in this kind of mandate in order to embrace renewable energy. The companies that are embracing renewable energy have seen their stock prices go up. It looks like the future of solar energy is bright.