Elon Musk and Warren Buffett have had a power struggle over the future of energy in Nevada starting as early as 2015.

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The issue centered around claims of anti-competitive practices by Berkshire Hathaway & NV Energy against SolarCity.

The two parties reached a settlement which allowed consumers of SolarCity's roof-top panels to continue Net metering through NV Energy's electrical grid.

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The billionaire power struggle centers around rooftop solar panels and net metering, beginning with the Rive brothers and their cousin Elon Musk establishing SolarCity operations in Nevada.

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For a 20-year commitment, SolarCity financed panels with a $0 down payment.

After starting in California and expanding to Arizona and Oregon, SolarCity began selling in Nevada in 2014 and quickly became the state’s leading installer of rooftop panels.

^[1]Warren Buffett saw opportunity for growth in Nevada's energy sector during the time SolarCity was excelling in Nevada with rooftop solar energy.

A few months after Musk's Tesla and SolarCity moved in to Nevada, Warren Buffett acquired NV Energy.

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Berkshire Hathaway and NV Energy's business model was centered around creating large solar farms in the deserts and powering Nevada through the existing electrical grid.

SolarCity had a direct-to-consumer business model, bringing rooftop panels directly to areas with high energy demand, and selling excess energy back to the utility company through a process known as Net metering.

Buffett lobbied against solar energy used on rooftops, with NV Energy owning a monopoly over the power grid.

This took form of a net metering cap enforced through state legislation.

Nevadans who had installed solar panels on their roofs were suddenly prohibited from selling more than 5% of peak energy usage.

Solar panels often create excess energy during the middle of the day, when the sunlight is most direct.

Surplus energy is typically sold to the electrical grid to power other energy consumers, making solar energy more economical.

Brian Sandoval, then mayor of Nevada, handed out printed Wikipedia articles of himself.

His wiki claimed that Sandoval would be able to retain solar-jobs in Nevada by removing or lifting the net metering cap.

Brian Sandoval accused SolarCity of editing the wiki, although they denied doing so.

Actors like Mark Ruffalo have been very vocal in support of SolarCity.

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On 6 January 2016, SolarCity made a blog headlined "Following Nevada PUC's Decision to punish rooftop solar customers, SolarCity was' forced to eliminate more than "550 Jobs in Nevada"^[10]This massive layoff upset many consumers, voters, and shareholders, believing it to be a case of corprotism.

Two of NV Energy's lobbyists—Pete Ernaut and Greg Ferraro—have been friends with Sandoval for decades.

Both ended up serving as advisers to his successful campaign and have continued to lobby him in office.

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A major reason why Tesla created the Powerwall was to meet the demand for energy storage in the wake of net metering regulations.

Elon Musk was declared the victor following a settlement that would grandfather the solar customers to more favorable rates for 20 years.

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