[The Vector] From the Private Sector: American Business Leaders, including Bill Gates, Call for Immediate Renewable Energy Push
Bill Gates and GE Chair Jeff Immelt at AEIC press conference, courtesy AEIC
A group of top business leaders are working together and formed The American Energy Innovation Council (AEIC) in a call for action on renewable energy. They are emphasizing the need to correct the “deficient” American energy system. The Council states that we: need a call for investment, need reforms to create jobs, need to address environmental issues and need to address national security. They have been meeting with the White House and Congressional leaders. Their report is entitled “A Business Plan for America’s Energy Future” and states that reform and strengthening of U.S. investment in innovation is a most critical element to securing our future.
Specific recommendations include:
- Create an independent national Energy Strategy Board (politically neutral, nongovernmental entity that must include energy experts.)
- Invest $16 billion per year in clean energy innovation (focus on technologies capable of scaling up quickly.)
- Fund ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy) at $1 billion per year (modeled after the successful and innovative DARPA, which was responsible for early investments in computers, Internet, virtual reality and artificial intelligence.)
- Establish and fund the New Energy Challenge program to build large-scale pilot projects.
Members of AEIC include Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft; the former chair of Lockheed Martin; the chair of Bank of America and former CEO of DuPont; and chief executive of General Electric (GE), among others. On the AEIC website , AEIC members state that their experience in building companies has given them an unshakeable belief in the power of innovation.
