Shaw Industries Group Inc. said Monday it has completed the purchase of a controlling interest in Watershed Solar LLC, which Shaw initially bought into 16 months ago to help expand its artificial turf business and tap into the growing solar power market.
The Dalton, Georgia-based carpet and floor covering manufacturer, which is owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc., announced the additional purchase into the solar power technology company on Monday. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Watershed Solar's technology, branded PowerCap, supplies low profile, high output solar arrays on top of landfills, coal ash closures and rooftops.
"Watershed Solar and Watershed Geo are uniquely qualified to provide solar opportunities for repurposing land with no other use," Shaw CEO Tim Baucom said in an announcement Monday. " They have the technology and the environmental and civil expertise to bring these two solutions together for our customers."
Shaw announced in October 2021 that it had purchased a significant interest in Watershed Geosythentics, LLC and entered into a letter of intent to acquire controlling interest in Watershed Solar. With this transaction now complete, Watershed Solar and Watershed Geo will operate as Watershed Geo and focus on serving large utilities, government agencies and global industries.
Such solar technology could be useful in helping turn abandoned facilities into useful, power-generating assets. The Tennessee Valley Authority, for instance, is moving ahead with plans to build a solar farm on top of the coal ash residues at its Shawnee Fossil Plant in Kentucky.
Watershed Geo currently services the environmental and civil sectors, with more than 3,300 acres of projects completed across 41 states and three continents.
"We're experiencing continued growth in demand for solar, which has been further incentivized by the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022," Mike Ayers, CEO at Watershed Geo and Watershed Solar, said in a statement Monday. "Our partnership with Shaw allows us to accelerate efforts to meet these new and emerging needs of our customers in utility, waste management, erosion control and mining industries."
— Compiled by Dave Flessner