No. of Recommendations: 19
Why hasn’t Berkshire gone big into nuclear energy production?
If I may answer in her place, the history of investment in the nuclear industry has been, uh, challenging.
From cost overruns, construction delays, and at times uncompetitive pricing compared with other, easier to mine and find energy sources, nuclear has been in the “too hard” pile for someone with Berkshire’s focus. It also carries massive liabilities, and while that attribute could be “walled off” with adroit legal work, it’s quite one thing to walk away from such liabilities when you are a multidimensional conglomerate than when that is your sole business.
Yes, it’s huge. Yes, it could suck up untold “extra” dollars, yes it might turn out to be a very nice regulated business after years (and years) of the entrance, but I’d be cautious about this, to the point of saying “not for us, thanks.”
For the record, I was with Westinghouse (different division) in the 1980’s when they were almost bankrupted by being whipsawed with contracts for provision of uranium to nuke plants they had built as the price gyrated and they were caught almost terminally underwater. They survived, but Westinghouse Nuclear did finally go bankrupt in 2017 based on cost overruns on plant constructions in Georgia and South Carolina.
Simple rule: Too hard pile.
