Berkshire Hathaway executives flew into Juneau to scout the state for investment potential for energy, logistics, ports, and the cargo hub of the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. They met with Gov. Mike Dunleavy in Juneau on Tuesday. The Dunleavy Administration has been inviting private capital investment in Alaska, and investment houses are flush with cash right now.
Berkshire Hathaway, founded by Warren Buffett, is one of the most reputable companies in the world with one of the strongest balance sheets. It has $150 billion in cash, twice the size of the Alaska Permanent Fund.
For an apex investor to come to Alaska and meet with the governor, something had to have happened. As it turns out, Gov. Dunleavy started the conversation with Buffett a year ago in a letter he sent inviting Warren or his lieutenants to come learn about Alaska, and about potential for renewable energy investments in Alaska.
Berkshire Hathaway Energy in recent years expanded into solar, wind hydro, and geothermal projects and has one of the largest renewable energy portfolios in the U.S.
Renewables in Alaska are an untapped potential, including the newer technology of “pumped hydro,” which is an ability to use excess wind electricity to reverse-pump water back into a reservoir to store for later use as hydro energy when the wind dies down. This would open up a whole new world for smaller communities shackled with higher energy costs, sources say.
