White House Seeks Private Funding For Clean Energy

The White House is seeking $2 billion in private-sector funding to promote clean energy and advance its climate change goals. The Department of Energy plans to mobilize foundations and institutional investors to spark the further development of low-carbon technologies and energy sources such as wind turbines, solar photovoltaics, advanced batteries, and fuel cells. Groups such as Wells Fargo, the Schmidt Family Foundation, the University of California Regents, and the Hewlett Foundation have committed to the project to advance clean energy. In its announcement on the initiative, the White House said that the cost of solar energy systems has decreased by 50% since 2010, suggesting that further developing clean energy technologies is a good investment. The announcement was made on Feb. 10 at DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy summit.