How Warren Buffett Is Bringing Green Energy to Coal Country

With the help of the Biden administration’s clean-energy initiatives, two of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway companies are bringing green energy to a coal-powered state.

President Joe Biden’s cornerstone clean-energy policy, the Inflation Reduction Act, could slash the cost of installing renewable energy sources in factories and plants in half, Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Energy Renewables told The Wall Street Journal. The policy, which was signed into law in August 2022, was designed to push forward the transition to clean energy and incentivize companies to tap renewable sources.

Now, two Berkshire companies are using the billions of dollars in subsidies offered by the law to power their latest project: a $500 million solar- and rechargeable-battery-powered titanium manufacturing plant in West Virginia, the Journal reported. The project is slated to create 300 jobs.

While this would normally be a tough sell in a state that relies on coal for 91% of its electricity generation, the Republican-headed legislature has become more amenable to clean energy given the subsidies, according to the Journal.

In the last year, West Virginia has shelled out $400 million in funding for Berkshire’s project and two others, the Journal reported. 

“The renewable folks are starting to get more clout, the coal industry is starting to lose its influence,” James van Nostrand, former director of West Virginia University’s Center for Energy and Sustainable Development, told the Journal. 

In December, West Virginia approved a Fidelis New Energy-backed hydrogen factory, which is expected to create 800 jobs. The state approved $62.5 million in loans for the project in August. It also approved $290 million in incentives for Form Energy, a battery startup funded by Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos. Form is planning to invest $760 million for a plant in Weirton, West Virginia, according to the Journal.

These are major developments in a state that ranked 48th in the country for solar capacity. West Virginia is the fourth-largest energy producer in the U.S., accounting for 5% of the country’s total, according to the Energy Information Administration. It has also been one of the slowest to adapt to clean energy, with renewable sources making up just 5% of its power production.

Across the U.S. 21% of electricity comes from renewables, 20% from coal and 39% from natural gas.