According to reports from the UK Times, Warren Buffett may be ready to pony up $1.6 billion to get a piece of UK's burgeoning offshore wind market.
With robust offshore wind resources, the UK government is gearing up to make the country the world's largest offshore wind producer. But it's not going to be cheap. Just to build a network of undersea cables, the cost could come in at around $20 billion.
So in an effort to get the capital flowing, investors are now bidding on connections for nine new offshore wind farms. Mid-American Energy - which is owned by Buffett - is one of those investors that has qualified, and is now a top contender for a 20-year deal to build and maintain the networks.
It is expected that $1.87 billion will be raised through the auction. Other contenders include: Scottish and Southern Energy, RWE, and Dong.
Of course, this certainly won't be Buffett's first entry into the alternative energy market. In fact, Mid-American already has nearly 1,400 megawatts of wind-generating facilities in operation or under construction. And last year, Buffett got into the electric vehicle market after buying 225 million shares of Chinese electric carmaker, BYD (at HK$8 a share). Today, those shares trade at around HK$68 a share!
Jeff
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