Warren Buffett's BHE Canada to build $200M wind farm
BHE Canada, a subsidiary of billionaire Warren Buffett’s firm Berkshire Hathaway, is set to begin work on a $200 million wind farm in Calgary, Alberta in 2020, the company announced on Tuesday.
Dubbed the Rattlesnake Ridge Wind project, the wind farm will eventually generate electricity from up to 28 turbines and provide enough energy for the equivalent of 79,000 homes, the company said in a press release. The project is privately funded and will not make use of any public subsidies.
"The Rattlesnake Ridge Wind project is a leader in the development of new grid-scale wind generation in Alberta, being constructed and operated without government subsidies," said William Christensen, vice president of corporate development of BHE Canada. "BHE Canada is excited to take this first step into the Alberta market, providing low-cost, renewable energy. We’re looking forward to more opportunities to invest in Alberta’s energy industry."
An unnamed “Canadian corporate partner” has already signed a power purchase agreement for the wind farm. The project will take approximately 18 months to construct and is set to begin producing power in December 2021.
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Wind energy now meets seven percent of Alberta’s energy demand, according to Canadian Wind Energy Associations statistics cited by Reuters. The local government previously offered subsidies to help finance wind energy projects, but those incentives ceased in April.
Berkshire Hathaway also owns AltaLink, which has supplied electricity to much of Alberta’s population since 2015. Buffett’s firm established BHE Canada when it acquired AltaLink. The subsidiary invests in renewable energy projects.
Berkshire Hathaway has investments across an array of industries, including sizable stakes in tech giant Apple and several major banks, including Wells Fargo and Bank of America.