Name: Watch Experts Debate Whether Bill Gates Is Investing Wisely in Clean Tech
Uploaded: 2016-05-17
Duration: 4 min 37 s
Description: The Microsoft co-founder plans to spend billions on renewable energy

Tell me why you're so passionate about, you know, putting money into technology we already have. Sure. So, I think where this really started was in Paris. Right? We came out of Paris, and even leading up to Paris, there was a lot of discussion about, can we do it with the existing technologies, do we need breakthroughs. And in part If you're in the incumbent world it's nice to make an argument that I should just keep doing what I am doing until that breakthrough miracle comes along and then we'll do that. Mm Hm .>> But please don't annoy me with this wind and solar and other stuff that's an imperfect solution. Mm hm. That created the dichotomy of Man 1: Do we go this way or do we go this way? I think the reality is you have to do both. & nbsp; Man 2: Mmhmm Man 1: And so the pieces I wrote were largely pieces that said, if I look at California, I absolutely think we can do what we need to do largely on existing technologies. There's a software and operations overly that we need to put on top of it to better manage in essence creating intermittent demand that follows intermittent generation. But we got systems to do that, we've done it for the internet, we've done it fo communication. But the better we do there, the cheaper we actually make that energy. Mm- hm. And it has this perverse effect that it also makes coal, and some ways oil cheaper. Mm- hm. The cheaper we make coal and oil, the more that people in India, in China, in Africa, buy more coal, use more coal. Mm- hm. And so we're not actually helping the global problem. So where I think the break through's have to come in is we actually have to be cheaper than cole without subsidies in India. Mm- hm. And I'm not sure we're there. Let's talk about the miracle cuz that's what he said, right? Okay we need a miracle he said right? That was what he said and as a venture capitalist I love miracles, I mean I rely on them on a regular basis because the odds are all stacked against you. There are small, medium and large miracles, to be sure, but we need them all, and I would say that The fact that clean energy companies are doing as well as they're doing, that is a miracle, when you think about all of the lack of a price on carbon, the state skirmishes, the trade wars, the investment tax credits, the dealerships at the state level, I mean, there are so many headwinds that That are in the face of this industry and to think that we're building the iconic companies that are replacing 20th century versions with Tesla and Solar City and Sun Run, Lynn couldn't be here. We've got NextTracker was here last year that innovated in tracking systems. I mean there's an abundance of progress, and we're driving down the cost, we're riding that cost curve So I was at Paris, I must have been in the wrong meeting because I felt a tremendous energy that we have made a lot of progress and it's only going to get better. And the fact that we can do all of this with this kind of albatross around our neck of an unlevel playing field with Without a price on carbon. Imagine what we'll do when we fix those problems. So you have to be an optimist in this business, and so I own up to that. But there's a lot of evidence to say that we've gotta do this. Now I'm also an Impact investor and so I'm a huge admirer or what the Gates foundation has done in health care and education and emerging markets and improving the quality of life there but everyone knows in those situations And those sectors, it's a long game. You tweak an educational system and if you're not in that school or that school district, it's not gonna happen for you, that improvement Right away and in some cases these are generational approaches. So the difference here going back to what Stefan, said we don't have that time. We're kind of in the emergency room and whatever that miracle big innovation on the operating table is. If we don't keep the patient alive enough to get into that operating room, then we're screwed. [ UNKNOWN ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ]

The Microsoft co-founder plans to spend billions on renewable energy