RAJKOT: The Governing body of Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) has announced that Saurashtra Cricket Stadium in Rajkot has become the second cricket Stadium in the country to have Installed 50 kWp solar rooftop system. Saurashtra Cricket Association has also plans to put up additional capacity in the near future to pioneer green power generation.
Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) sources said that the plant of 50 kWp installed now is designed to generate 6833 units per month and yearly 82,000 units(Eighty two thousand units) of solar power, and will be used for captive consumption purpose and monthly saving of electricity bill of approximately Rs 54600.
In terms of saving of carbon emission, it translates to a saving of about 50 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. German based Solar Company PV Line Pvt Ltd has designed, engineered, supplied and executed the project. The stadium is now eco-friendly. The stadium has utilised the space for helping to protect the environment.
The solar system shall be officially inaugurated on Sunday before the match between India vs South Africa starts. India and South Africa will play their second ODI at SCA stadium on Sunday.
Source - Times of India - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. (Applause.) Thank you, everybody. Please, please, have a seat. We're all about saving energy here. (Laughter.) Sit down.
Hello, Las Vegas! (Applause.) It’s good to be back on the road after spending a little downtime with my family -- recharging my own batteries, so to speak. And it is great to join you at this clean energy summit to see the work that you’re all doing on what I consider to be one of the most important issues not just of our time, but of any time.
I want to thank Mandalay Bay and MGM’s chairman, Jim Murren, for hosting us today. I want to thank my dear friend, your outstanding Senator, Harry Reid, for holding this summit -(applause) -- and for keeping us focused on this challenge. I want to thank him, by the way, for his strong statement over the weekend in support of a deal that is going to make sure that Iran does not get a nuclear weapon, which is a top priority of my administration. (Applause.) And Harry’s leadership matters. It sends a message that Congress should support this historic diplomatic breakthrough, and not block it over the objections of most of the world. It reflects the best of American foreign policy. We don't rely on bluster or bravado; we focus on strong, principled diplomacy that prevents Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon -- and showing once again to the entire world what American leadership really means.
Now, we’re here today because we believe that no challenge poses a greater threat to our future than climate change. It’s something that I’d spoken at length about a few weeks ago; it’s something that I’ll speak about at length next week when I travel throughout Alaska.
But we’re also here because we hold another belief, and that is we are deeply optimistic about American ingenuity. We think we can do good and do well at the same time. We believe we have the power, the dynamism, the creativity to solve a big problem while keeping the engines of the American economy moving.
Six and a half years ago, I took office after decades in which our addiction to fossil fuels and foreign oil perennially threatened our planet and our national security. And together, we’ve begun to change that -- a lot of people in this room working with us. Yes, we’ve become the world’s number-one producer of oil and natural gas, but we've also become a major player in clean energy. And these advances have helped to grow our economy and created a steady stream of well-paying jobs. They’ve also helped us reduce the dangerous emissions that contribute to climate change. And we’ve done it in three big ways.
First of all, we’re wasting less energy. We’ve set new fuel economy standards on cars and trucks, new efficiency standards on appliances like refrigerators and dishwashers -- and these advances are already saving folks money at the pump; it's saving money on their electricity bills. And steps like these also mean that factories and businesses aren’t just paying for energy, they’re getting paid not to waste energy. The economy as a whole is producing a lot more using less energy. And we’re also using less dirty energy.
Earlier this month, I unveiled our Clean Power Plan -- the first set of nationwide standards to end the limitless dumping of carbon pollution from our power plants, the single most important step America has ever taken to combat climate change. The Clean Power Plan is also going to accelerate the third way that we’re cutting emissions, creating jobs, saving folks money -- and that’s by generating more clean energy.
When I took office, I pledged to double our production of wind and solar by the end of my first term. We met that goal ahead of schedule. (Applause.) As Harry just mentioned, six years ago, the Recovery Act marked the single biggest investment in clean energy in our history. And by the way, what we did was not revolutionary. We did what the federal government has always done -- we invested in promising new technologies to spur private sector investment and innovation all across the country.
Today, there are thousands of renewable energy projects employing tens of thousands of Americans all across the country. Right here in Nevada, for example, renewable energy generation has increased 180 percent since I took office. Today, America is number one in wind power, generating three times as much wind energy as we did in 2008. There are now more than 500 wind manufacturers across 43 states supplying the wind industry -- an industry that supports more than 50,000 jobs and supplies enough energy to power 16 million homes.
Some states have made even greater strides. Last year, for example, Iowa generated nearly 30 percent of its electricity from the wind. And if we keep investing in wind, rather than making shortsighted cuts or chasing mindless austerity, wind could provide as much as 35 percent of America’s electricity and supply renewable power in all 50 states by the year 2050. (Applause.)
As well as we're doing in wind, we're making even more progress on solar. (Applause.) I notice you got a lot of sun around here. (Laughter.) America generates 20 times as much solar power as we did in 2008 -- 20 times. Last year was solar’s biggest year ever. Prices fell by 10 percent; installations climbed by 30 percent. Every three minutes, another home or business in America goes solar. Every three weeks, we install as much solar capacity as we did in all of 2008. And the world’s largest solar installation came online last year, with 9 million solar panels generating enough electricity to power more than 100,000 homes with clean, renewable energy -- not in Germany, not in China, not in Saudi Arabia -- right here in the United States of America. (Applause.)
In fact, over the past six years, the federal government has approved 34 commercial-scale solar projects and the transmission infrastructure that goes with them on public lands across the West. We approved one new project just today in California that will ultimately power another 100,000-plus homes. And right here in Las Vegas, we’ve cut the time it takes to permit solar projects in half. (Applause.)
And one of the reasons we’ve done this is not just because it’s good for the environment and good for the overall economy -- it takes workers to install all this new capacity. And that’s why, last year, the solar industry added jobs 10 times faster than the rest of the economy. Solar has helped a lot of construction workers find work while Congress was dragging its feet on funding infrastructure projects. In fact, the solar industry now employs twice as many Americans as mining coal. (Applause.) We’re helping more veterans find work with our Solar Ready Vets Program, with a goal of training 75,000 solar workers who have been veterans by 2020. That is a goal we can achieve. (Applause.)
So federal investments have helped support all this innovation, and now is not the time to pull back on those investments. Now is not the time to insist on massive cuts to the investments in R&D that help drive our economy, including the hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts that many Republicans want to take from these successful, job-creating clean energy programs. It’s thanks in part to these investments that there are already places across the country where clean power from the sun is finally cheaper than conventional power from your utility -- power often generated by burning coal or gas. (Applause.)
And it’s impossible to overstate what this means. For decades, we’ve been told that it doesn’t make economic sense to switch to renewable energy. Today, that’s no longer true. (Applause.) And you don’t have to take my word for it. Many of our biggest businesses are backing up that fact. Walmart has the most installed on-site solar capacity of any company in America. They’re not in the business of giving away money. (Laughter.) Google is the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy in the world; companies like Apple and Costco close behind. They’re not doing this just out of altruism. They’re doing it because it means big cost savings. And that can mean big things for local communities.
I’ll just give you one example. Google plans to retrofit the site of a retired coal plant in Alabama into a data hub run entirely on renewable energy. Recently, they created a new online tool that lets you plug in your address to see if solar power is the smart choice for you.
So if you care about climate change, the very fact that companies realize clean energy and energy efficiency are not only cost-effective but cost-saving should give you a big jolt of hope.
The point is America is making incredible progress on this issue. And that’s one of the reasons why I recently committed this country to getting 20 percent of our energy from renewables beyond hydroelectric power by 2030. (Applause.) And, by the way, when we do smart things in America, that wakes up the world. So Brazil’s President joined me for that announcement, committed her country to the same goal. But to meet that goal, we have to triple where we are today. So I’m here to give you hope, but not complacency.
The private sector is increasingly all in. Cities and states are increasingly doing their part. Just today, 15 cities from Seattle to Chicago to New York are joining 19 cities that have already pledged to reduce emissions and invest in climate resilience. Leaders in California are aiming to generate 50 percent of their electricity from renewables by 2030 -- 50 percent -- while cutting carbon pollution from oil by 50 percent. (Applause.)
And as long as I’m President, the federal government is going to do its part beyond the investments that we’ve already made to promote this issue. So last month, we announced a new initiative to make it easier for businesses and low-income households to install low-cost solar. Today, we’re announcing new public- and private- sector commitments that will add new solar capacity on more than 40 military bases. (Applause.) And that’s an investment that will create jobs, save taxpayer dollars and reduce emissions.
The Department of Energy is announcing a new push to deploy innovative “distributed energy” resources like micro-grids or rooftop solar with battery storage, and will offer loan guarantees for projects like these. And we’re going to make it even easier for individual homeowners to put solar panels on their roof with no upfront cost. So specifically, we’re going to take steps to expand the use of a tool we call PACE, which helps you pay for solar panels through the future savings on your energy bills. (Applause.)
So we’re taking steps that allow more Americans to join this revolution with no money down. You don’t have to share my passion for fighting climate change. A lot of Americans are going solar and becoming more energy efficient not because they’re tree huggers -- although trees, you know, are important -- (laughter) -- just want you to know -- but because they’re cost-cutters. They like saving money. And I’m all for a consumer saving money, because that means they can spend it on other stuff. Solar isn’t just for the green crowd anymore -- it’s for the green eyeshade crowd, too. (Laughter.)
Now, we’ve still got a lot of work to do and significant obstacles remain. And obviously, all of you know that very well. For all the promise of solar, it’s still a small share of our economy in energy mix -- less than 1 percent. Wind makes up almost 5 percent. But here’s the thing: Solar made up almost one-third of all new generating capacity last year. Wind power made up another 20 percent. So we see the trend lines. We see where technology is taking us. We see where consumers want to go. And that, let’s be honest, has some big fossil fuel interests pretty nervous -- to the point where they’re trying to fight renewable energy. (Applause.)
Now, it’s one thing if you’re consistent in being free market. It’s another thing when you’re free market until it’s solar that’s working and people want to buy, and suddenly you’re not for it anymore. (Laughter.) That’s a problem.
There’s a big shift going underway that goes beyond simply putting solar panels on your home. Yes, the number of homes with rooftop solar has grown from fewer than 20,000 to about 600,000 over the past decade or so. More than 80 percent of that capacity was added in the past four years. But the real revolution going on here is that people are beginning to realize they can take more control over their own energy -- what they use, how much, when.
For decades, our energy system basically worked one way: Utilities generated power, usually by burning fossil fuels. They ran lines into the home or business. We paid for it. It wasn’t a real exciting business, there wasn’t a lot of innovation. We didn’t think about it much in our daily lives -- until the energy bill came in the mail. And the economy grew under that model, at a time when we were less worried about dependence on foreign fuels, and at a time when we were less conscious about the impacts it was having on the environment.
But in just a few short years, that’s begun to change in a profound way. Six years ago, smart meters were pretty rare. Today, 60 million consumers have access to detailed information about how much energy we use, how we use it, when we use it. So we can use that information to change our habits, use energy more efficiently, save more money without a whole lot of sacrifice. We can control our thermostats from our smartphones. New appliances and smart devices can tell when energy prices are cheapest, and do laundry, or wash the dishes, or charge our car at those times.
We’ve got windows and building materials that can actually generate power. And we can even tell our utility company that we want our homes powered by renewable energy, or we can call up a contractor and put solar panels on our roof by the weekend -- and that empowers us not only to generate affordable clean energy, but to store it in battery packs, or sell it back to the grid.
That’s power. That’s the future. That's happening right now. It’s an American energy revolution that’s like evolving from the telegraph to the smartphone in less than a decade. It's happening fast.
Now, the good news is some utilities recognize this; they see what’s happening. They’re adapting their business model to seize the opportunities of this emerging energy reality. We have to lift up some of those success stories and the innovations that are taking place.
So San Antonio’s municipal utility is standing up its own rooftop solar program. Southern Company is partnering with Nest and Tesla on power storage so we can use renewable energy better. Oklahoma Gas and Electric is empowering its customers to enroll in smart metering that uses electricity when it’s cheaper, not when it’s most expensive.
But while change this fast presents new opportunities, it is invariably going to create resistance from some fossil fuel interests who want to protect the old, outdated status quo. And there are some legitimate issues around how does a new distributed system work, and folks have some costs and how do we deal with those things, and those are important for us to address. But when you start seeing massive lobbying efforts backed by fossil fuel interests, or conservative think tanks, or the Koch brothers pushing for new laws to roll back renewable energy standards or prevent new clean energy businesses from succeeding -- that's a problem. That's not the American way. That's not progress. That's not innovation. That’s rent seeking and trying to protect old ways of doing business and standing in the way of the future.
I mean, think about this. Ordinarily, these are groups that tout themselves as champions of the free market. If you start talking to them about providing health care for folks who don't have health insurance, they’re going crazy -- “this is socialism, this is going to destroy America.” But in this situation, they’re trying to undermine competition in the marketplace, and choke off consumer choice, and threaten an industry that’s churning out new jobs at a fast pace. (Applause.) And that has the potential to hurt a lot of communities -- and set back America’s leadership in fighting climate change. They’re even fighting to protect billions of dollars of taxpayer dollars in corporate welfare each year that's going to fossil fuel companies.
Now, what’s interesting is that their actions have conjured up some pretty strange bedfellows. In some states, we got Green Party and Tea Party teaming up to protect our freedom to choose clean energy. It is rare that the Tea Party leaders and I are on the same side of an issue. (Laughter.) I agree with them here. (Applause.) And just because I agree with them, I don't want them to change their minds now. (Laughter.) I promise there are all kinds of other things you can whoop me. (Laughter.)
But this is important, and they are absolutely right on this fight. This is not, and should not be, a Republican-versus-Democratic issue. (Applause.) This should be an issue that can bring everybody together. (Applause.) If you're a progressive, you should care about this. If you're a libertarian, you should care about this. If you just want to save some money, you should care about it. And if you care about the future of our children and grandchildren, you should care about it. (Applause.)
So here, and across the country, this is about whether big polluters control the system, or whether consumers have freedom to choose cleaner, cheaper, more efficient energy; whether we protect old ways of doing business even when they’re not efficient, or we dream up new business models that bring new technologies into our homes and businesses, and new jobs into our communities. This is about the past versus the future. And America believes in the future.
And to make that future a reality, we got to have everybody -- utilities, entrepreneurs, workers, businesses, consumers, energy regulators, tree huggers, Tea Partiers -- everybody has got to seize the opportunities before us.
There is something big happening in America right now. For the first time, we can actually see what our clean energy future looks like. And, yes, the closer we get to this future, the opposition will fight even harder to keep things the way they’ve been. Folks will get louder in some of the backlash, and they’ll put out press releases suggesting that somehow this is bad for America. We can't pay attention to that. Folks whose interests or ideologies run counter to where we need to go, we've got to be able to politely, but firmly say, sorry, we're moving forward. (Applause.)
And anybody who suggests that moving to a clean energy economy is going to somehow cripple our economy, or lead to fewer jobs, if they hold up snowballs in February as if that somehow disproves decades of scientific data -- (laughter) -- if they suggest that we've got to set our sights lower and do less or delay action because we can't figure this stuff out -- I just want everybody to remember, we've heard these arguments before. We have engaged in this debate many times before. It's taken different forms, but this is an age-old debate in America. It's a debate between the folks who say, “no, we can't,” and the folks who say, “yes, we can.” (Applause.) Between those who fear the future and those who are eager to seize the future. And although sometimes there are some growing pains, America always comes down on the side of the future. We’ve always been a people who reach -- proudly and boldly and unafraid -- for that more promising future. We refuse to surrender the hope of a clean energy future to those who fear it and fight it, and sometimes provide misinformation about it.
Because the naysayers always underestimate what the American people are capable of. We prove that every day. All across this country, right now, you’ve got once-dusty plains and rundown buildings that are now solar fields and rooftop arrays. All across this country, right now, once-shuttered factories are humming, retraining workers to build wind turbines -- technology that we’re not just importing now, now we’re making it here and we’re exporting it -- technology made in America. (Applause.) All across this country, once-darkened plants are now full of rehired autoworkers manufacturing some of the world’s most energy-efficient cars -- cars that make you proud to be an American. (Applause.)
This generation of Americans is hammering into place the high-tech foundations of a clean energy age. It’s the same people who first harnessed the power of the atom, the power of the sun; the same spirit of people who connected the continent by road and by rail, who connected the world through our science and our imaginations; the same people who set foot on the Moon, and put a rover on Mars, and probes the farthest reaches of our solar system.
That’s what Americans do. We can do anything. And you guys are proving it every single day, and I’m going to be right there beside you. Congratulations. (Applause.)
God bless you. God bless this country we love. Thank you. (Applause.)
Cochin International Airport is all set to emerge as the world’s first ‘Green Airport’ by tapping solar power to meet its energy requirements.
Read here: http://goo.gl/IfJEJH
KOCHI, AUG 13:
Cochin International Airport is all set to emerge as the world’s first ‘Green Airport’ by tapping solar power to meet its energy requirements.
The company has installed a 12 MW solar plant with more than 46,000 panels on 45 acres at an investment of ₹62 crore (₹5.17crore per MW).
“With the commissioning of the plant, Cochin International Airport will become the world’s first airport to be completely powered by solar energy — as its entire power requirements of about 50,000 units each day will be met through solar energy generated from these plants,” V.J. Kurien, Managing Director, CIAL, said.
The project will be inaugurated by Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on August 18, he told reporters here on Thursday.
The setting up of the project has enabled the company to produce 18 million units of power annually, which is adequate to feed 10,000 homes for one year, he said, adding that KSEB has given permission for banking the energy produced.
The contract was awarded to Bosch Ltd, Bangalore, through a global tender and the work has been completed in a short span of six months.
CIAL’s initial entry into the solar sector was during March 2013 when a 100 KW peak solar power plant was installed on the rooftop of the arrival terminal with 400 panels. This was subsequently scaled up to 1000 KWp in the same year. Inspired by the success, the company decided to set up a large 12 MW plant, he said
India’s central government ministries, state government departments and institutions such as schools have been requested to take up rooftop solar by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
After 2-3 years of falling prices, it is now economical to generate power through grid-connected rooftop solar according to a letter from MNRE joint secretary Tarun Kapoor to all government parties and other institutions. With an installation life of 25 years, the payback period for rooftop solar is now around 5-6 years.
The letter comes in the wake of the Government announcement that 40GW of the country's overall 100GW by 2022 solar target is to come from rooftop solar.
Kapoor wrote: “There is huge roof space available in Govt. buildings including offices, PSUs buildings and institutions.”
He said that this can be used to generate thousands of megawatts of solar power and save money for the institutions and ministries. Kapoor also noted that some ministries and their PSUs have a significant amount of spare land that can be utilized for solar.
Kapoor also highlighted the Reserve Bank of India’s recent inclusion of renewable energy projects under priority lending.
State Electricity Regulatory Commissions in 19 states have also brought in net-metering or feed-in tariff mechanisms as a further benefit to rooftop solar.
To conclude the letter Kapoor wrote: “You are requested to take appropriate actions to install the grid connected solar rooftop systems in available roof space in the buildings and let your buildings to produce clean and green power.”
MNRE also released a “tentative” year-by-year breakdown of individual state targets to reach its overall 40GW rooftop solar installation goal in July.
M. Manickam, Chairman of Dr.Mahalingam College of Engineering and Technology, Pollachi, speaks at the inauguration of the international conference on ‘Renewable Energy and Sustainable Development’ held on the premises of the college on Tuesday.
Roof top solar panels to be encouraged on the lines of Germany
The Union Government has drawn up plans to facilitate the setting up of 26 solar power plants at 26 locations in the country and increase the installed power generation capacity by 20,000 mw, said Tarun Kapoor, Joint Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Resources, at the international conference on ‘Renewable Energy and Sustainable Environment’ held at the Dr. Mahalingam College of Engineering and Technology in Pollachi on Tuesday.
A release from the college quoting him said that the move would make India a leading country in solar energy production. The Government was drawing up plans to set up solar energy plants atop buildings and on vacant lands, taking a cue from Germany.
In Tamil Nadu, there would be a move to install a 600 mw solar power plant, the release said.
The College had organised the conference in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, IEEE and the Cape Breton University, Canada.
The objective was to provide a platform for scientists and engineers from industries, non-government organisations and education institutions from around the world to exchange ideas on the topic.
The organisers had received 200 papers and chose 90 of those based on peer reviews. The release added that M. Manickam, Chairman of the College, C. Ramasamy, Secretary of NIA institutions, Ibrahim Alladin, International Advisor to the College, and others spoke at the inauguration. The Hindu is the media partner for the conference.
Last month, during a trip to Europe, I mentioned that I plan to invest $1 billion in clean energy technology over the next five years. This will be a fairly big increase over the investments I am already making, and I am doing it because I believe that the next half-decade will bring many breakthroughs that will help solve climate change. As I argued in this 2010 TED talk, we need to be able to power all sectors of the economy with sources that do not emit any carbon dioxide.
But when it comes to preventing the worst effects of climate change, the investments I make will matter much less than the choices that governments make. In Europe I got to talk about these choices with several political leaders, and in this post I want to share the steps that I encouraged them to take.
I think this issue is especially important because, of all the people who will be affected by climate change, those in poor countries will suffer the most. Higher temperatures and less-predictable weather would hurt poor farmers, most of whom live on the edge and can be devastated by a single bad crop. Food supplies could decline. Hunger and malnutrition could rise. It would be a terrible injustice to let climate change undo any of the past half-century’s progress against poverty and disease—and doubly unfair because the people who will be hurt the most are the ones doing the least to cause the problem.
In addition to mitigating climate change, affordable clean energy will help fight poverty. Although the Gates Foundation does not fund energy research (my investments are separate), we see through our work with the poorest how the high price of energy affects them by adding to the cost of transportation, electricity, fertilizer, and many other things they need.
I do see some encouraging progress on climate and energy. Environmental advocates deserve credit for getting climate change so high on the world’s agenda. Many countries are committing to put policies in place that reflect the impact of greenhouse gases. The cost of solar photovoltaic cells has dropped by nearly a factor of ten over the past decade, and batteries that store energy created by intermittent sources like solar and wind are getting more powerful and less expensive. Since 2007 the United States has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions nearly 10 percent. Since 1990 Germany hasreduced its energy-sector emissions by more than 20 percent.
World leaders will take another critical step this December at a major meeting in Paris called COP21, where they will discuss plans to reduce global CO2 emissions significantly. COP21 can build a strong foundation for solving the climate crisis—but we will need to go even further.
Scientists generally agree that preventing the worst effects of climate change requires limiting the temperature increase to 2 degrees Celsius, and that doing so requires the biggest emitters to cut emissions 80 percent by 2050 and all countries to essentially eliminate them by the end of the century. Unfortunately, while we can make progress with today’s tools, they cannot get us to an 80 percent reduction, much less 100 percent. To work at scale, current wind and solar technologies need backup energy sources—which means fossil fuels—for windless days, long periods of cloudy weather, and nighttime. They also require much more space; for example, to provide as much power as a coal-fired plant, a wind farm needs more than 10 times as much land.
These are solvable problems. If we create the right environment for innovation, we can accelerate the pace of progress, develop and deploy new solutions, and eventually provide everyone with reliable, affordable energy that is carbon free. We can avoid the worst climate-change scenarios while also lifting people out of poverty, growing food more efficiently, and saving lives by reducing pollution.
To create this future we need to take several steps:
Create Incentives for Innovation
One step is to lay the foundation for innovation by drastically increasing government funding for research on clean energy solutions. Right now, the world spends only a few billion dollars a year on researching early-stage ideas for zero-carbon energy. It should be investing two or three times that much.
Why should governments fund basic research? For the same reason that companies tend not to: because it is a public good. The benefits to society are far greater than the amount that the inventor can capture. One of the best examples of this is the creation of the Internet. It has led to innovations that continue to change our lives, but none of the companies who deliver those innovations would ever have built it. Similarly, the government’s research into hydraulic fracturing helped create today’s natural gas boom.
Expanding the government’s support for energy research will lead to another important step: attracting more private investment to the field. As early-stage ideas progress, private capital will pour in to build the companies that will deliver those ideas to market. We need hundreds of companies working on thousands of ideas, including crazy-sounding ones that don’t get enough funding, such as high-altitude wind and solar chemical (using the energy of the sun to make hydrocarbons). No one knows which of these technologies will prove powerful enough and easy to scale, so we should be exploring all of them.
My own personal investments include companies working on new batteries and other storage methods and advances in solar technology. The nuclear design I am investing in would be safer than previous designs and would go a long way toward solving the nuclear waste problem. I spend a lot of time with the CEOs and scientists at all these companies discussing how to build a business around an innovative idea and take a product to market. If government research budgets open up the pipeline of innovation, not only will I expand my investments, but I believe other investors would join me in taking these risks.
Governments need to act quickly, because energy transitions take time. Today, renewables account for less than 5 percent of the world’s energy mix. It took four decades for oil to go from 5 percent of the world’s energy supply to 25 percent. Natural gas took even longer. I believe we can make this transition faster—both because the pace of innovation is accelerating, and because we have never had such an urgent reason to move from one source of energy to another. The sooner we start, the more suffering we can prevent.
Develop Markets That Help Get to Zero
Another important step will be to ensure that the energy market accurately reflects the full impact of emitting carbon. Today the market is not factoring in what economists call the negative externalities—the health costs, environmental damage, and so on. If the market takes these into account, renewable energy will be more competitive with fossil fuels, which will attract more innovators to the field. Many countries and states are experimenting with different ways to price carbon. Whatever approach we take, it should create incentives to develop new energy solutions while also giving energy companies enough certainty to plan and execute the transition to zero-carbon sources.
We can also be smarter about how we use subsidies. The IMF estimates that direct subsidies for fossil fuels amount to nearly $500 billion a year worldwide, shielding consumers from their true costs. Some subsidies for deploying renewable energy are also very inefficient, creating big incentives to install solar panels where it’s often not sunny or wind turbines where it’s not windy. We should be looking for ways to reduce these subsidies and invest the savings in the basic R&D that will help solve the problem.
Treat Poor Countries Fairly
Unfortunately, even if we could roll out the ideal zero-carbon solution tomorrow, some climate change is inevitable, and it will hit the world’s poor the hardest. The countries that have done the most to cause this problem have a responsibility to not only invest in mitigation, but also help poor countries adapt to a changing climate. For our part, the Gates Foundation is concentrating on one key aspect of adaptation: helping small farmers—who make up the majority of the world’s poor—adjust to hotter, more unpredictable weather by raising agricultural productivity. I will be writing more about this work later this year.
As for next steps, I’m optimistic that the spotlight of the COP meeting in Paris will help motivate governments to step up their research budgets. In my view, innovation is essential to human progress. Some people would say that it is the lens I use to look at every problem, and I have to admit that there is some truth to that. But I believe it is justified by history. In my lifetime innovation has helped eradicate one deadly disease (smallpox) and put us on the brink of a second (polio). We have cut the fraction of children who die every year by a factor of four. Digital technology has revolutionized the way people live. We can create a zero-carbon future too, if we commit to it.
