Bill Gates is one of many who sees clean energy solutions as a pathway to the longevity of both the human race and our planet. A solution set that can both spur economic growth and environmental preservation.

The difference between Bill and most people, is his incredible network, above average intellect, and a vast amount of capital. With these extraordinary resources, Bill Gates and his network of incredibly talented people have pulled together the Breakthrough Energy Coalition (BEC), an effort to support the development of clean energy technologies, and lead our world into a carbon-less future.

Apart from the coalition, Bill has also recently announced the Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV), a fund that promises to invest more than $1 billion in scientific breakthroughs, aimed at developing inexpensive and reliable clean energy technologies.

The repercussions of utilizing fossil fuel energy sources are starting to show, with climate change in full swing and mass air pollution in regions, causing detrimental health problems for the people of this world. If we keep moving forward at the status quo, and do nothing to combat what we have already done, and continue to do to this planet, we will inevitably make earth inhabitable.

To protect our future generations from the effects of the toxic emissions of today and tomorrow, these private platforms have been created, and are invaluable to our future. As written in Gates Notes, "We need affordable and reliable energy that doesnt emit greenhouse gas to power the future”and to get it, we need a different model for investing in good ideas and moving them from the lab to the market."

Current details on the BEC suggests they are focused on supporting companies coming out of the government funded R&D pipeline, and while this makes sense, these companies are just a part of what is needed to meet the ultimate goals, which is to spur and promote the mass adoption of clean energy technologies.

As of today, the relatively new CleanTech industry has some extremely impactful technologies already commercially available such as solar, wind, geothermal, and hydro. While supporting new innovation is crucial to continually reducing the cost of energy, supporting companies that are currently providing and implementing today's clean energy solutions are crucial to meeting the goal of mass adoption and clean energy market sector growth. The development of new and existing solutions providers are the key to propelling the adoption of today's existing technologies and will build the foundation in which to propel new technologies as they come commercially available.

The CleanTech industry is emerging to be one of the most impactful industries in the world. No other industry brings the amount of value-add to both the environment and the economy at the same time.