[joeag]

I don't see SunPower as being like the others. It's very, very hard to build a new set of railroad tracks so a railroad is pretty much of a monopoly. Anyone can (and does) build solar plants. It just takes capital and patience. Also railroads (and utilities) have immense lobbying capabilities and so are able to get very sweet, ever increasing rates (although for railroads they do of course have to compete with other modes of transport, but I'm sure with rising fuel prices they have huge advantages compared to over the road). SunPower however, as a developer, has to SELL to utilities and have NO pricing power nor real competitive advantage. They also typically sell on long term fixed price contracts in order to obtain financing and because that's typically all the utilities offer. I would be interested to know if Buffet has some kind of swap or other financial product that trades the long term fixed price stability of the investment (although low yielding) for something that provides more yield but is more variable.