Item 2. Description of Properties
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Item 2. Description of Properties
The properties used by Berkshire’s business segments are summarized in this section. Berkshire’s railroad and utilities and energy businesses, in particular, utilize considerable physical assets in their businesses.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe
Through BNSF Railway, BNSF operates over 32,500 route miles of track (excluding multiple main tracks, yard tracks and sidings) in 28 states, and also operates in three Canadian provinces. BNSF owns over 23,000 route miles, including easements, and operates over 9,000 route miles of trackage rights that permit BNSF to operate its trains with its crews over other railroads’ tracks. As of December 31, 2024, the total BNSF Railway system, including single and multiple main tracks, yard tracks and sidings, consisted of over 50,000 operated miles of track.
BNSF operates various facilities and equipment to support its transportation system, including its infrastructure, locomotives and freight cars. It also owns or leases other equipment to support rail operations, such as vehicles. Support facilities for rail operations include yards and terminals throughout its rail network, system locomotive shops to perform locomotive servicing and maintenance, a centralized network operations center for train dispatching and network operations monitoring and management, computers, telecommunications equipment, signal systems and other support systems. Transfer facilities are maintained for rail-to-rail as well as intermodal transfer of containers, trailers and other freight traffic and include approximately 25 intermodal hubs located across the system. BNSF owns or holds under non-cancelable leases exceeding one year approximately 6,800 locomotives and 71,400 freight cars, in addition to maintenance of way and other equipment.
In the ordinary course of business, BNSF incurs significant costs in repairing and maintaining its properties. In 2024, BNSF recorded approximately $2.4 billion in repairs and maintenance expense.
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Berkshire Hathaway Energy
BHE’s energy properties consist of the physical assets necessary to support its electricity and natural gas businesses. Properties of BHE’s electricity businesses include electric generation, transmission and distribution facilities, as well as coal mining assets that support certain of BHE’s electric generating facilities. Properties of BHE’s natural gas businesses include natural gas distribution facilities, interstate pipelines, storage facilities, liquefied natural gas facilities, compressor stations and meter stations. The transmission and distribution assets are primarily within each of BHE’s utility service territories. In addition to these physical assets, BHE has rights-of-way, mineral rights and water rights that enable BHE to utilize its facilities. Pursuant to separate financing agreements, the majority of these properties are pledged or encumbered to support or otherwise provide the security for the related subsidiary debt. BHE or its affiliates own or have interests in the following types of operating electric generating facilities at December 31, 2024:
| Energy Source | Entity | Location by Significance | Facility Net Capacity (MW) (1) | Net Owned Capacity (MW) (1) | ||||||||
| Wind | PacifiCorp, MEC, BHE Canada, BHE Montana and BHE Renewables | Iowa, Wyoming, Texas, Montana, Nebraska, Washington, California, Illinois, Canada, Oregon and Kansas | 12,659 | 12,659 | ||||||||
| Natural gas | PacifiCorp, MEC, NV Energy, BHE Canada and BHE Renewables | Nevada, Utah, Iowa, Wyoming, Illinois, Washington, Oregon, Texas, New York, Arizona and Canada | 12,887 | 12,251 | ||||||||
| Coal | PacifiCorp, MEC and NV Energy | Iowa, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Colorado and Montana | 12,146 | 7,466 | ||||||||
| Solar | MEC, NV Energy, Northern Powergrid and BHE Renewables | California, Australia, Nevada, Texas, Arizona, Iowa and Minnesota | 2,270 | 2,122 | ||||||||
| Hydroelectric | PacifiCorp, MEC and BHE Renewables | Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Hawaii, Montana, Illinois, California and Wyoming | 985 | 985 | ||||||||
| Nuclear | MEC | Illinois | 1,811 | 452 | ||||||||
| Geothermal | PacifiCorp and BHE Renewables | California and Utah | 377 | 377 | ||||||||
| Total | 43,135 | 36,312 |
(1)
Facility Net Capacity in megawatts (MW) represents the lesser of nominal ratings or any limitations under applicable interconnection, power purchase, or other agreements for intermittent resources and the total net dependable capability available during summer conditions for all other units. An intermittent resource’s nominal rating is the manufacturer’s contractually specified capability (in MW) under specified conditions. Net Owned Capacity indicates BHE’s ownership of Facility Net Capacity.
As of December 31, 2024, BHE’s subsidiaries also have electric generating facilities that are under construction in Wyoming, Nevada, West Virginia and California having total Facility Net Capacity and Net Owned Capacity of 1,085 MW. BHE’s subsidiaries also have battery energy storage systems in Nevada, Montana, West Virginia and Oregon having total Facility Net Capacity and Net Owned Capacity in operation of 320 MW and under construction of 527 MW.
PacifiCorp, MEC and NV Energy own electric transmission and distribution systems, including approximately 28,300 miles of transmission lines and approximately 1,660 substations, and gas distribution facilities, including approximately 28,700 miles of gas mains and service lines.
The BHE GT&S pipeline system consists of approximately 5,400 miles of natural gas transmission, gathering and storage pipelines located in portions of Maryland, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia. Storage services are provided through the operation of 17 underground natural gas storage fields located in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York. BHE GT&S also operates, as the general partner, and holds a 75% limited partnership interest in one liquefied natural gas export, import and storage facility in Maryland and operates and has interests in three smaller liquefied natural gas facilities in Alabama, Florida and Pennsylvania.
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Northern Natural’s pipeline system consists of approximately 14,200 miles of natural gas pipelines, including approximately 5,800 miles of mainline transmission pipelines and approximately 8,400 miles of branch and lateral pipelines. Northern Natural’s end-use and distribution market area includes points in Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Michigan and Illinois and its natural gas supply and delivery service area includes points in Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. Storage services are provided through the operation of one underground natural gas storage field in Iowa, two underground natural gas storage facilities in Kansas and two liquefied natural gas storage peaking units, one in Iowa and one in Minnesota.
Kern River’s system consists of approximately 1,400 miles of natural gas pipelines, which extends from the system’s point of origination in Wyoming through the Central Rocky Mountains into California.
Northern Powergrid (Northeast) and Northern Powergrid (Yorkshire) operate an electricity distribution network that includes approximately 17,100 miles of overhead lines, approximately 44,600 miles of underground cables and approximately 860 major substations. AltaLink’s electricity transmission system includes approximately 8,300 miles of transmission lines and approximately 310 substations.
Other Segments
Significant physical properties used by Berkshire’s other business segments are summarized below:
| Number of Properties | ||||||||||||||
| Business | Country | Locations | Property/Facility type | Owned | Leased | |||||||||
| Insurance | U.S. | Offices and claims centers | 9 | 83 | ||||||||||
| Offices | 6 | 89 | ||||||||||||
| Non-U.S. | Locations in 27 countries | Offices | 1 | 65 | ||||||||||
| Manufacturing | U.S. | Manufacturing facilities | 520 | 139 | ||||||||||
| Offices/Warehouses | 248 | 512 | ||||||||||||
| Retail/Showrooms | 239 | 211 | ||||||||||||
| Housing subdivisions | 288 | — | ||||||||||||
| Non-U.S. | Locations in 61 countries | Manufacturing facilities | 170 | 92 | ||||||||||
| Offices/Warehouses | 119 | 440 | ||||||||||||
| Pilot | U.S. | Travel centers | 517 | 92 | ||||||||||
| Offices/Warehouses | 4 | 24 | ||||||||||||
| Fuel mixing/Processing facilities | 2 | 25 | ||||||||||||
| Product/Rail terminals | 9 | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Cardlock/Fuel stops | — | 49 | ||||||||||||
| Saltwater disposal wells | 138 | — | ||||||||||||
| Ethanol plant | 1 | — | ||||||||||||
| McLane | U.S. | Distribution centers/Offices | 61 | 28 | ||||||||||
| Service | U.S. | Training facilities/Hangars | 11 | 82 | ||||||||||
| Offices/Distribution | 14 | 141 | ||||||||||||
| Production facilities | 3 | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Leasing/Showrooms/Retail | 42 | 28 | ||||||||||||
| Non-U.S. | Locations in 20 countries | Training facilities/Hangars | 1 | 14 | ||||||||||
| Offices/Distribution | 1 | 50 | ||||||||||||
| Retailing | U.S. | Offices/Warehouses | 23 | 25 | ||||||||||
| Retail/Showrooms | 145 | 457 | ||||||||||||
| Non-U.S. | Locations in 7 countries | Retail/Offices/Warehouses | — | 96 |
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