Vinod Khosla: Smart Grids Are Overhyped
Already -- and they barely exist yet. That's not to say there won't be important smart grid applications and successful companies, Khosla said at the GreenBeat conference earlier this month. But it sounds like there may be some dogs too. Here he is ranting against people who believe that smart grids and $30,000 electric cars will solve pollution in China and other environmental ills. In his opinion, clean tech companies should do two things -- dramatically cut prices for consumers ("the only thing that will change their behavior"), and be "technology neutral", as in not follow tech fads. Khosla also never loses an opportunity to tout his own clean tech investments -- including Calera, which converts carbon dioxide into water and cement. "I'd guess today that there's a reasonable probability -- in excess of 50% -- that the cleanest way to generate power is with coal, not solar."
