Buffett $1 billion order shows wind power rivals coal.

The decision by Warren Buffett's utility company to order about $1 billion of wind turbines for projects in Iowa shows how a drop in equipment costs is making renewable energy more competitive with power from fossil fuels.

Turbine prices have fallen 26% worldwide since the first half of 2009, bringing wind power within 5.5% of the cost of electricity from coal, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., a unit of Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc., recently announced an order for 1,050 megawatts of Siemens AG wind turbines in the industry's largest order to date for land-based gear.


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