Hot topics of debate

16 March 2007

Whatever you think of Oracle boss Larry Ellison, you could never accuse him of defeatism. But for his one-time boardroom buddy Ray Lane, now a cleantech VC, tackling pessimism is becoming an occupational hazard.

Lane, who was president at Oracle prior to becoming general partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, is on a mission to save the world from global warming. Speaking at last week's Global Technology Symposium at Stanford in Silicon Valley, he ran through the threats that the world faces, and some of the technologies that could save us. The latter group spans everything from geothermal technologies (which drill into the earth's heat to produce steam) to the 'holy grail' of energy storage.

Kleiner Perkins itself is making a big push into the cleantech sector, with Lane identifying geothermal and wind as two holes in its current portfolio (or more accurately, one hole in the ground and one turbine) that he'd like to see filled. But it's not just about venture capital. Lane has an Al Gore-esque, big picture perspective on the world, and wants answers. He argues, for example, that all of the US' power needs could be met by building a 150sq km solar park in the sun-drenched Southwestern US - and that Europe could benefit from a similar set-up in North Africa. (Intriguingly, the country that boasts the greatest solar usage today is Germany, which is hardly known for its non-stop rays.)

It was his missionary zeal, however, that prompted a couple of negative questions from the multinational audience. One delegate pointed out that if the world heats up, we'll spend less energy on heat - so shouldn't we simply be researching a new kind of temperature equilibrium? Another pointed to research that suggests it's already too late to reverse global warming - so instead of making VCs and entrepreneurs rich by investing in technologies to stave off the inevitable, we'd be better off pursuing something more worthwhile, like finding a cure for cancer. The latter left Lane temporarily speechless. 'How old are you?' he asked the questioner. '25,' came the response. You need to sort yourself out, was Lane's blunt advice.

The critics won't go away, however, given that each alternative energy source has its downsides. Take wind. Lane believes that one million new large windmills would have a huge impact on our energy needs - but he's conscious that opponents would quickly point to the number of birds they'd kill. Instead, he reflected ruefully, 'we're just going to choke them on carbon.'

by Keith Rodgers