Bill Gates Helps Invent A New Windmill
Bill Gates recently invested in a small nuclear reactor company. TerraPower received $1 billion from the Microsoft founder and may receive another $1 billion.
*Wind Energy News
Gates has spread his wings and moved into wind energy via a company reinventing how wind energy generation works. Airloom Energy Inc. got money from a non-profit owned by Gates called Breakthrough Energy Ventures LLC. His investment is modest, $7.5 million, but it was enough to get a large headline on Bloomberg.
According to Bloomberg, “Instead of rising on a tower, the startup’s turbine uses a rollercoaster-like track. Wind pushes wings around the structure, which in turn pull a belt that powers generators to produce electricity.” It is much smaller than most windmills used to create electricity.
How Hard Is New Tech?
The question is whether the new technology will work. Wind power, in general, has occasionally had structural problems. Blades have broken off, and some have become hazards. Huge wind farms are hard to repair and expensive to build.
Green energy has grown in fits and starts. Some technologies carry enough risk that it is impossible to find private capital. If private capital is available, the cost is high. The alternative is money from the government, which can be a complex process.
Gates may reinvent the windmill. Will anyone use the new invention?
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