Skip to main content

Buffet Keeping "Open Mind" About Investing in Nuclear Energy

By Eric McErlain
Warren Buffet is taking a hard look at the electricity business, including nuclear energy. From a report in this morning's Wall Street Journal (subscription required):
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is willing to invest more money in the U.S. energy sector than the $10 billion to $15 billion he previously discussed and said he sees more opportunities in the utilities industry, including nuclear power.

Mr. Buffett -- whose Berkshire vehicle already plans to buy U.S. utility PacifiCorp from Britain's Scottish Power PLC for $5.1 billion -- also said he would invest in power-transmission lines, broaden energy markets and undertake other efforts to improve electricity reliability after the deal closes. Pledging such moves, which would boost the potential value of his power holdings, also could help him win support from Western state officials who must approve the deal.
Further . . .
In the interview, Mr. Buffett said he is keeping an "open mind" about investing in a new generation of nuclear-power plants that wouldn't create air pollution. Even if there is debate about global warming and the power industry's culpability, Mr. Buffett said, "the price of making a mistake [by not acting] is such that you should err on the side of the planet."
These days, it's hard to tell the difference between Warren Buffet and James Lovelock.

Technorati tags: , , , , ,

Comments

Norris McDonald said…
Warren. Call me. Have your people talk to my people. If the U.S. cannot get its act together and build new nuclear plants maybe you and I should meet with Mexico and Canada to see if we can build along the U.S. border. Then all we will need are the transimission lines to deliver the emission-free power. Call me. (301) 265-8185
June 23, 2005 at 5:21 PM
Rod Adams said…
Warren:
Call me instead. Adams Atomic Engines, Inc was incorporated in 1993 with the epress purpose of designing a new kind of nuclear power system that could be built in smaller sizes to take advantage of serial production.
We believe that our plant designs can adapt to fit into a number of market opportunities that are normally ignored by the nuclear industry, including commercial shipping, power for smaller towns and cities, and power in developing areas or countries.
Rod Adams
President and CEO, Adams Atomic Engines, Inc.
June 25, 2005 at 3:42 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fluor Invests in NuScale

By
You know, it’s kind of sad that no one is willing to invest in nuclear energy anymore. Wait, what? NuScale Power celebrated the news of its company-saving $30 million investment from Fluor Corp. Thursday morning with a press conference in Washington, D.C. Fluor is a design, engineering and construction company involved with some 20 plants in the 70s and 80s, but it has not held interest in a nuclear energy company until now. Fluor, which has deep roots in the nuclear industry, is betting big on small-scale nuclear energy with its NuScale investment. "It's become a serious contender in the last decade or so," John Hopkins, [Fluor’s group president in charge of new ventures], said. And that brings us to NuScale, which had run into some dark days – maybe not as dark as, say, Solyndra, but dire enough : Earlier this year, the Securities Exchange Commission filed an action against NuScale's lead investor, The Michael Kenwood Group. The firm "misap...
1 comment
Read more

Wednesday Update

By
From NEI’s Japan micro-site: NRC, Industry Concur on Many Post-Fukushima Actions Industry/Regulatory/Political Issues • There is a “great deal of alignment” between the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the industry on initial steps to take at America’s nuclear energy facilities in response to the nuclear accident in Japan, Charles Pardee, the chief operating officer of Exelon Generation Co., said at an agency briefing today. The briefing gave stakeholders an opportunity to discuss staff recommendations for near-term actions the agency may take at U.S. facilities. PowerPoint slides from the meeting are on the NRC website. • The International Atomic Energy Agency board has approved a plan that calls for inspectors to evaluate reactor safety at nuclear energy facilities every three years. Governments may opt out of having their country’s facilities inspected. Also approved were plans to maintain a rapid response team of experts ready to assist facility operators recoverin...
Post a Comment
Read more

Nuclear Utility Moves Up in Credit Ratings, Bank is "Comfortable with Nuclear Strategy"

By
Some positive signs that nuclear utilities can continue to receive positive ratings even while they finance new nuclear plants for the first time in decades: Wells Fargo upgrades SCANA to Outperform from Market Perform Wells analyst says, "YTD, SCG shares have underperformed the Regulated Electrics (total return +2% vs. +9%). Shares trade at 11.3X our 10E EPS, a modest discount to the peer group median of 11.8X. We view the valuation as attractive given a comparatively constructive regulatory environment and potential for above-average long-term EPS growth prospects ... Comfortable with Nuclear Strategy. SCG plans to participate in the development of two regulated nuclear units at a cost of $6.3B, raising legitimate concerns regarding financing and construction. We have carefully considered the risks and are comfortable with SCG’s strategy based on a highly constructive political & regulatory environment, manageable financing needs stretched out over 10 years, strong partners...
Post a Comment
Read more