Berkshire Hathaway Energy, or BHE, plans to buy from NaturEner USA almost 400 MW of wind generation in Montana, according to an application filed Tuesday at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
The output from the three wind farms – Glacier I, Glacier II and Rim Rock – are under contract to Morgan Stanley Capital Group under power purchase agreements that expire on April 30, 2026.
The planned deal includes the purchase of Power Watch, which runs a generation-only balancing authority for the Glacier wind farms, and Wind Watch, a generation-only balancing authority for Rim Rock, according to the application.
The Rim Rock project interconnects with the Montana-Alberta Tie-Line, Glacier I interconnects with NorthWestern Energy’s transmission system and Glacier II interconnects with the Glacier Electric Cooperative transmission system.
The proposed deal meets FERC’s criteria for approval, according to BHE and NaturEner, which is owned by Grupo NaturEner, a renewable energy company based in Madrid, Spain.
It will not hurt competition, rates or regulation and will not lead to the cross-subsidization of a non-utility associated company or the pledge or encumbrance of utility assets for the benefit of an associated company, BHE and NaturEner said.
They asked FERC to approve the transaction by Oct. 3.
BHE, a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary, also owns BHE Renewables, which owned 4,654 MW as of April 2021. That capacity included 1,665 MW of wind, 1,536 MW of solar, 970 MW of natural gas-fired, 345 MW of geothermal and 138 MW of hydro, according to the company.
BHE has also made $6.9 billion in tax equity investments in wind farms owned by third parties, according to Berkshire Hathaway’s most recent annual report.
