Venture capitalist says U.S. losing green race

Silicon Valley venture capitalist John Doerr, whose early investments helped launch Google and Amazon, delivered a stark warning to Congress on Wednesday that the United States is on the verge of being left behind in the green tech revolution.

"Notice the trend here," Doerr told members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. "We won the space race with the Soviet Union. Now as (New York Times columnist) Tom Friedman says, we're in an Earth race with other nations to see who can invent the technology so that men and women can stay on Earth. And we are not winning today."

Doerr noted that many investors are still waiting for new federal policies and incentives to jump in. But they sense a huge opportunity in the energy industry, valued at $6 trillion annually with 4 billion customers worldwide, he said. "It is the mother of all markets - perhaps the largest economic opportunity of the 21st century," Doerr said.

Obama has shared some of the optimism, suggesting that investments in clean energy could create millions of new jobs and help pull the country out of recession. After Wednesday's briefing, Boxer said many of Doerr's ideas are likely to make it into the new stimulus plan and future legislation.

"America pulled itself out of the Great Depression by mobilizing to fight World War II," she said. "Now, in order to break out of this deep recession ... we must mobilize again."

John Doerr's 5 recommendations for Congress

The legendary Silicon Valley venture capitalist made five recommendations to Congress and President-elect Barack Obama to jump-start a green-tech revolution and fight global warming:

  1. Modernize the grid: As part of the economic stimulus package, Doerr said Congress should invest in a more efficient electric grid that can deliver solar and wind power to consumers across the country.
  2. Put a price on carbon: A cap-and-trade system and a carbon tax that's refunded to taxpayers could drive up the costs for coal plants and make low-carbon sources, wind and solar, more competitive.
  3. A national renewable energy standard: Doerr believes the federal government should follow California and two dozen other states that require utilities to generate more of their power from renewable sources.
  4. New incentives for utilities: California utilities will spend $3 billion on energy-efficiency measures over the next 18 months because state rules give companies major incentives to conserve energy. New federal rules could force other states to follow suit, he said.
  5. More federal energy research: The federal government spends less than $1 billion a year on renewable energy research. Doerr urged more federal research and loan guarantees to help new technologies get off the ground.

Click here to read the entire article by San Francisco Chronicle writer Zachary Coile.