- In 2021, we expect BHE’s operation to generate about 25.2 million megawatt-hours of electricity (MWh) in Iowa from wind turbines that it both owns and operates. That output will totally cover the annual needs of its Iowa customers, which run to about 24.6 million MWh. In other words, our utility will have attained wind self-sufficiency in the state of Iowa.
What's interesting is how they've been reinvesting their profits into updating infrastructure rather than paying out hefty dividends.
- Berkshire Hathaway now owns 91% of BHE in partnership with Walter Scott, Jr. and Greg Abel. BHE has never paid Berkshire Hathaway a dividend since our purchase and has, as the years have passed, retained $28 billion of earnings. That pattern is an outlier in the world of utilities, whose companies customarily pay big dividends – sometimes reaching, or even exceeding, 80% of earnings. Our view: The more we can invest, the more we like it.
Chain Letter Blockchains, cryptocurrencies, and why they matter Boom and bust 02.27.20 Welcome to Chain Letter! Great to have you. Here’s what’s new in the world of blockchains and cryptocurrencies. Texas’s wind boom is what set the stage for its digital gold rush. Last week we had a blurb about how Peter Thiel and others were betting big money on Bitcoin mining in Texas, looking to take advantage of its cheap electricity. Intrigued, I decided to look further into what is going on in the Lone Star State. What I found is that it’s just as much an energy story as it is a Bitcoin story. A number of factors, including federal and state pro-renewables policies, deregulated electricity market, and, of course, high winds have led to a wind power boom in west Texas. But sometimes the wind power is so plentiful there is too much of it to carry across the state to its big population centers to the east. So wind producers in west Texas are eager to find customers closer to them to buy that extra wind. In theory, that gives mining firms leverage to reach agreements that give them access to very cheap wind power. The bottom line is that miners are realizing there is digital money to be made in Texas, as long as they can cheaply protect their mining hardware from its sweltering heat. - MIT's Chain Letter this morningMIT Technology Review
Also related, EIA released a report yesterday stating that Wind has overtaken Hydro as the most used renewable energy source.