Buffett Treads on Pickens' Turf

• By the tickerspy.com Staff
• On 10:08 am EDT, Monday September 21, 2009

The world's most famous value investor is making a nine-figure bet on alternative energy.

Warren Buffett is really going green these days. In October of 2008, his investment in Chinese electric car and battery-maker BYD (OTC: BYDDF - News) made headlines - and made headlines again when it netted his Berkshire Hathaway (NSYE: BRK-A, BRK-B) a cool billion-dollar profit in less than a year. Faith in energy storage established, the Oracle of Omaha is now moving on to clean power generation.

According to London's TimesOnline, Buffett is considering a $1.6 billion investment in the U.K.'s offshore wind energy project - an initiative expected to cost near $20 billion in total. Berkshire's Mid-American Energy, the same subsidiary to buy a stake in BYD, is expected to bid on a 20-year development and maintenance deal for the project. The investment won't likely be represented in Buffett's 13F-listed holdings, but his new interest in alternative investments is worth watching.

National Grid (NYSE: NGG - News), Macquarie Global Infrastructure (NYSE: MGU - News), and Southern Energy (OTC: SOCI - News) are also expected to bid for a share of the British wind project.

Former oilman T. Boone Pickens has long been an outspoken proponent of wind energy, but so far his efforts have been a disappointment. Transmission issues put his massive Mid-Western wind farm on hold, and no wind stocks can be found among his top-15 U.S.-listed equity positions at the start of Q3.

MasTec (NYSE: MTZ - News), Zoltek Companies (NASDAQ: ZOLT - News), Trinity Industries (NYSE: TRN - News), and Woodward Governor (NASDAQ: WGOV - News) are the top performing wind energy stocks over the last month. General Electric (NYSE: GE - News), one of Buffett's larger equity positions, is also a major wind turbine producer, though its vast array of other operations make it far from a wind energy pure play.

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