BILL GATES CALLS FOR NEW NEW ENERGY

Bill Gates calls for massive increase in energy research; Even though it's supposed to be a time of federal fiscal austerity, Bill Gates says its time to double down on energy research.
Martin LaMonica, November 21, 2011 (C/NET)

"The software industry icon and philanthropist…published an editorial in Science calling for a massive boost in federal energy research and development from about $5 billion a year now to $16 billion…amid rancorous political fallout from failed solar company Solyndra…[and the failure of the super committee] to devise a long-term plan on balancing the federal budget…

"Gates [and other members]…of the American Energy Innovation Council…[including] former Lockheed Martin CEO Norm Augustine, General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt, Xerox CEO Ursula Burns, and venture capitalist John Doerr…[have] called for a sharp increase in funding for research and development to improve the energy security of the country, boost its economy, and help preserve the environment."

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"In its most recent report, the American Energy Innovation Council said there needs to be a significant role for government energy research to spur technical innovation. The energy industry is different from other fields in that energy requires large amounts of capital, the field is not entirely competitive because of regulations, and utilities do not invest as much in research and development of new technologies.

"That report also suggested ways to pay for a research funding increase, including eliminating current subsidies for fossil fuel industries, diverting royalties from domestic energy production, and charging fees on electricity use or a price on carbon emissions…"