Ask HN: What happened to clean tech?
10 or so years ago clean-tech was going to be the next big thing. A bunch of VC funds created dedicated clean-tech funds. It seems like the underlying premise of needing more clean energy never changed.
So, what happened? Why did clean-tech seem to fizzle? I've read about programs for new geothermal technology and new wind technology. But most of that work is happening outside the USA. My impression is that "Big Oil" has too much control here in the USA, and has successfully killed any innovation related to clean energy. So you have to go to places like Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and Switzerland to find most innovation on clean energy. (Just yesterday I heard about a wind farm in the USA being fought. They claimed that it destroyed too much ecosystem. But compared to oil, gas, and coal - which destroy an incredible amount of our environment - wind energy is very clean. It seems obvious to me that the effort is being funded by Big Oil - just as it has been for decades in the USA. I think it was Buckminster Fuller who said that a wind turbine on every power pole would provide more energy than we could use.) Tesla? edit Meaning, 'clean-tech' is alive and well.