Berkshire Hathaway’s Geothermal Pivot in 2025: From Power Plays to Lithium Riches

Industry Adoption: How Berkshire Hathaway is Reshaping Geothermal Beyond Power Generation

Between 2021 and 2024, Berkshire Hathaway Energy (BHE) cemented its position as a geothermal leader through a dual-pronged strategy. The company leveraged its established, commercial-scale portfolio of 10 geothermal plants in California’s Imperial Valley (345 MW) as a foundation for both stable power generation and future growth. The period was defined by strategic positioning for the next wave of value creation. This was most evident in June 2024, when BHE formed a pivotal joint venture with Occidental’s TerraLithium to pilot direct lithium extraction (DLE) from its geothermal brine. Simultaneously, BHE’s utility arm, NV Energy, demonstrated the market’s pull for firm, 24/7 renewable power by signing a 115 MW deal with Google and Fervo Energy, creating a commercial pathway for next-generation enhanced geothermal systems. This activity showed a company adept at monetizing existing assets while methodically de-risking future opportunities in critical minerals.

The year 2025 marks a dramatic inflection point, where BHE’s strategy shifted from methodical expansion to a decisive pivot. In February 2025, BHE suspended its Black Rock project, which would have added three new geothermal power plants, citing significant regulatory and transmission hurdles. This move signals a pragmatic retreat from near-term power generation growth in California and highlights the persistent threats facing new infrastructure projects, even for a well-capitalized incumbent. In its place, BHE has doubled down on the far more lucrative opportunity in critical minerals. The focus is now squarely on commercializing DLE technology through its TerraLithium and SLB partnerships, leveraging an intellectual property portfolio of over 40 patents. This strategic pivot transforms the adoption narrative from simply adding megawatts to creating a dual-revenue stream of clean energy and critical minerals. The 53% year-over-year increase in BHE’s net earnings in Q1 2025 underscores the financial strength that allows the company to absorb the setback in power expansion and aggressively pursue the more complex but potentially more rewarding prize of domestic lithium production.

Table: Investment Analysis: Fueling Berkshire Hathaway’s Geothermal and Lithium Ambitions

Table: Strategic Partnerships: Berkshire Hathaway’s Key Geothermal Alliances

Geographic Focus: Berkshire Hathaway’s Concentrated Geothermal Operations

Between 2021 and 2024, Berkshire Hathaway’s geothermal activities were geographically concentrated in the Western United States, reflecting the region’s unique geological and market opportunities. California’s Imperial Valley served as the operational heart, hosting all 10 of BHE’s geothermal power plants. This region also became the designated proving ground for the company’s nascent lithium ambitions, culminating in the 2024 TerraLithium joint venture. In parallel, Nevada emerged as a key market for geothermal power offtake, showcased by the NV Energy-Google agreement. This geographic focus highlighted a strategy of dominating a specific, resource-rich area for direct operations while using its utility footprint in an adjacent state to foster markets for advanced geothermal technologies.

From 2025 to today, the geographic focus has both intensified and faced a harsh reality check. California’s Imperial Valley remains the undisputed center of BHE’s geothermal world, but its dual role as a site of immense opportunity (lithium) and significant barriers (regulation, transmission) is now starkly clear. The February 2025 suspension of the Black Rock project near the Salton Sea was a direct result of these local challenges. This event reinforces that geographic concentration, while efficient, also magnifies regional risk. In response, BHE’s January 2025 partnership with Grid United on the multi-state North Plains Connector transmission project signals a broader geographic strategy to mitigate such bottlenecks. While the core assets remain in California, BHE is now actively engaging in infrastructure solutions that span wider regions to ensure its energy can reach markets, a crucial lesson learned from its stalled expansion plans.

Technology Maturity: Berkshire Hathaway’s Geothermal and DLE Trajectory

In the 2021-2024 period, BHE’s technology portfolio showed a clear hierarchy of maturity. Conventional geothermal power generation was fully commercial and scaled, represented by its 345 MW fleet of operational plants, some running since 1982. Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) were transitioning from pilot to commercial validation, a shift BHE did not pioneer directly but crucially enabled through its NV Energy subsidiary’s 115 MW power purchase agreement for Fervo Energy’s project. The least mature technology was Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE). It existed in the demonstration phase, with BHE Renewables completing its own Lithium Recovery Demonstration Project and then forming the pivotal joint venture with Occidental to prove the commercial viability of TerraLithium’s DLE technology platform.

The period from 2025 to the present has reordered this hierarchy based on strategic priority and market reality. While conventional geothermal power remains a mature technology, its scalability has been commercially challenged, as evidenced by the suspension of the Black Rock project. The roadblocks are not technological but regulatory and logistical. In contrast, DLE has rapidly advanced from a demonstration-level priority to BHE’s primary strategic technology initiative. With partnerships firmed up with both TerraLithium (and its 40+ patents) and SLB, the focus has shifted from proving the concept to engineering for commercial scale. DLE is not yet a fully scaled, commercially mature technology, but it has become the central pillar of BHE’s geothermal growth story, with the company betting its future returns on successfully navigating the path from pilot to profitable, large-scale mineral production.

Table: SWOT Analysis: Berkshire Hathaway’s Geothermal Strategy Evolution

2025 Outlook: What’s Next for Berkshire Hathaway’s Geothermal-Lithium Play

The data from 2025 signals that Berkshire Hathaway’s geothermal strategy is no longer about incremental growth in power generation but about a transformative bet on the energy transition’s supply chain. The suspension of the Black Rock project should not be viewed as a failure, but as a tactical reallocation of capital and focus toward the more compelling DLE venture. For the year ahead, market actors should temper expectations for new geothermal power plant announcements from BHE. Instead, the most critical signals will come from its lithium initiatives.

Watch for milestones from the TerraLithium and SLB joint ventures: the announcement of commercial-scale DLE facility construction, results from larger-scale pilot operations, and, most importantly, the signing of offtake agreements for battery-grade lithium. These events will be the true indicators of success. The primary challenge remains overcoming the same regulatory and infrastructure hurdles that stalled the Black Rock project. BHE’s ability to navigate California’s complex permitting environment for its DLE facilities will determine the timeline and profitability of this pivot. The outlook for BHE in geothermal is now inextricably linked to its success in becoming a dominant force in the domestic lithium market—a far more significant growth story than adding a few hundred megawatts of power.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did Berkshire Hathaway shift its focus from building new geothermal power plants to lithium extraction in 2025?
The shift was a strategic pivot. BHE suspended its Black Rock power plant project in February 2025 due to significant regulatory and transmission hurdles, which highlighted the challenges of new infrastructure. In its place, the company doubled down on the “far more lucrative opportunity” of extracting lithium from its geothermal brine, viewing it as a more rewarding venture than simply adding megawatts of power.

What is Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) and how is BHE involved?
Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) is a technology used to selectively extract lithium from brine. BHE is leveraging its existing 10 geothermal plants in California’s Imperial Valley, which already bring hot, mineral-rich brine to the surface. Through partnerships with Occidental’s TerraLithium and SLB, BHE is working to commercialize DLE technology to create a dual-revenue stream of clean power and high-purity lithium.

Has Berkshire Hathaway stopped its geothermal power generation activities completely?
No. BHE continues to operate its established 345 MW portfolio of 10 geothermal power plants in California. The strategic pivot is not an exit from power generation but a shift in its *growth* strategy. The company is now focusing future investment on the dual opportunity of energy and critical minerals rather than solely on expanding its power generation capacity.

Who are BHE’s key partners in its geothermal-lithium venture?
BHE has formed several key alliances. For its lithium ambitions, it has cornerstone joint ventures with Occidental’s TerraLithium (June 2024) and SLB (September 2025) to commercialize DLE technology. For grid infrastructure, it partnered with Grid United (January 2025) to address transmission bottlenecks. And for next-gen geothermal power markets, its subsidiary NV Energy partnered with Google and Fervo Energy (June 2024).

What is the main challenge BHE faces in its new lithium strategy?
The primary challenge remains the same one that halted its power plant expansion: “persistent regulatory and infrastructure bottlenecks.” According to the analysis, BHE’s ability to navigate California’s complex permitting environment for its commercial-scale DLE facilities will be the deciding factor in the timeline and profitability of its pivot to lithium production.