In March, Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy group dissolved its energy policy division, resulting in the layoff of several employees. Some of these former staff members have since launched a new nonprofit called the Clean Economy Project.
Much like Breakthrough Energy, this new initiative is wagering that clean energy will soon be able to outcompete fossil fuels in terms of cost, if it hasn’t already.
According to a March article in the New York Times, Gates decided to shut down Breakthrough’s lobbying arm after concluding that it would achieve little with the Trump administration.
Known informally as CleanEcon, the organization is supported by more than ten unnamed backers, including both philanthropists and venture capitalists. The ten-member team outlined three main objectives in a press release: “speeding up the development of energy projects, driving innovation to reduce expenses, and making private investment in clean sectors less risky.”
Aliya Haq, who previously spent almost six years as vice president of U.S. policy and advocacy at Breakthrough Energy, now serves as president of the new group.
