【】
The late, great Prince quietly funded solar energy startups before he died last year, and now that funding could help young clean-tech firms navigate the turbulent Trump era.
The pop musician anonymously invested around $250,000 in Powerhouse, a rare for-profit incubator and accelerator that links solar entrepreneurs with investors, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
The Oakland, California-based incubator -- and efforts like it -- could give renewable energy innovations a crucial leg-up at a time when President Trump is seeking to slash funds for early-stage energy projects through the U.S. Department of Energy.
SEE ALSO:Meet the company vying to take on Tesla in clean energyTrump's proposed 2018 budget would eliminate the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), an initiative to support cutting-edge energy technologies. That program was funded to the tune of about $291 million that was enacted in fiscal year 2016.
Funding for the department's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy would shrink by 70 percent, to $636 million, compared to the enacted level during the previous year. Trump also wants to scrap the department's clean energy and auto loan programs, which backed Elon Musk's Tesla in 2009.
Via GiphyPrince-backed Powerhouse is also providing key funding just as venture capital investors, such as Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, are shifting away from the clean-tech sector.
Prince's secret solar funding wasn't his only anonymous act of philanthropy. He also supported #YesWeCode, an organization that educations urban youth on technology, and helped to raise awareness for the Black Lives Matter movement. The musician also donated to Green for All, an organization co-founded by community activist Van Jones in Oakland.
Prince joined the solar startup space after a 2011 conversation with Jones, who later became a green-jobs adviser to former President Obama and is now a commentator on CNN.
"He [Prince] asked, 'If I have a quarter-million dollars, what can I do with it?'" Jones told Bloomberg. "My wife said he should put solar panels all over Oakland."
Van Jones views a solar panel in Las Vegas, Nevada.Credit: ETHAN MILLER/Getty ImagesWith a grant from Prince, Jones brought in Solar Mosaic founder Billy Parish, who moved his rookie crowdfunding platform from Arizona to Oakland. There, Parish met Emily Kirsch, who was a green jobs campaigner at the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, the nonprofit that Jones co-founded. Kirsch worked with Solar Mosaic on its first four projects before co-founding Powerhouse.
So far, the incubator has helped 43 start-ups get on their feet, including firms like Avalon Battery, which makes energy storage systems with advanced rechargeable batteries; Mosaic, which provides loans for homeowners to install solar panels; and Solar Analytics, which offers energy data and analysis for residential solar owners.
Powerhouse startups have since generated $52 million in revenue, raised $287 million in capital, employed nearly 390 people, and have collectively led to the installation of 242 megawatts of solar power in the U.S. and abroad, according to the company's website.
Moreover, the incubator has helped make Oakland a hive for clean-tech finance, according to Bloomberg. Thirteen companies and six industry organizations are all working near Powerhouse's offices across the bay from San Francisco.
Prince's involvement in the fledgling solar project ended in April 2016, when he died from an accidental fentanyl overdose at age 57. Prince wanted his involvement to remain anonymous, Jones said.
Featured Video For You
TopicsSustainabilityDonald Trump
相关文章
5 people Tim Cook calls for advice on running the biggest company in the world
It's only fitting that the leader of the biggest company in the world has a pretty impressive list o2024-11-21- 格雷米奧官方宣布艾克森加盟 雙方簽約至2022年底_中國隊_廣州隊_效力www.ty42.com 日期:2022-04-13 07:31:00| 評論(已有340616條評論)2024-11-21
- 西媒盛讚武磊:機會寥寥仍態度端正 助球隊衝歐戰_進球_西班牙_本賽季www.ty42.com 日期:2022-04-12 16:31:00| 評論(已有340574條評論)2024-11-21
- 老國腳身邊帶煙? 郜林回應:您肯定知道我旁邊有個抽煙的領導_李平康_熱身賽_足球www.ty42.com 日期:2022-04-11 10:31:00| 評論(已有340331條評論)2024-11-21
- Amazon's Echo made controlling music with your voice easy-peasy, but its sound quality could be a lo2024-11-21
- 連場白卷平局!米蘭失爭冠主動權 國米成本輪贏家_主場_那不勒斯_羅馬www.ty42.com 日期:2022-04-11 06:01:00| 評論(已有340285條評論)2024-11-21
最新评论