first published week of: 05/16/2016
Power companies take advantage of government incentives that let them sell renewable electricity to other utilities at higher prices
Large U.S. utilities are taking advantage of government subsidies to buy and produce more renewable energy in anticipation of tougher new regulations on carbon emissions.
Duke Energy Corp., Southern Co. and the energy unit of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. are among the utility companies that are investing more in solar and wind farms and ramping up purchases of clean power, spurred by renewable–energy mandates in more than half the nation’s states and expected federal limits on greenhouse–gas emissions.
The utilities continue to burn coal—and increasingly natural gas—to provide the bulk of their power. But power companies are investing in more wind and solar farms because they can sell renewable electricity to other utilities at higher prices than conventional coal and natural gas–fired plants, under contracts up to 25 years long. And federal renewable–energy tax credits reduce the cost of buying or building a new wind or solar power facility, as well as help offset corporate taxes, utility executives say. continued…