By Eric Auchard and Nichola Groom
MENLO PARK, California (Reuters) - U.S. legislation to control greenhouse gas emissions would make renewable energy sources competitive with conventional fuels "overnight," a top Silicon Valley venture capital firm said on Tuesday.
Policies to control emissions of carbon dioxide, a gas associated with global warming, would "instantly make any green tech solution more cost-competitive with fossil-based competitors," said Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Partner John Denniston. "Overnight that will happen."
"If we legislatively put a price on carbon... that would be a watershed event in the energy world," Denniston told the Reuters Global Agriculture and Biofuels Summit at his firm's headquarters in Menlo Park.
"It would send a signal to the entire world that the United States understands that climate change is a crisis, and it would be a rallying cry for the rest of the world to work with the U.S," Denniston said.
Measures such as carbon taxes and cap-and-trade systems have led to quicker growth of renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power, in Europe.
Kleiner Perkins has invested in about 30 renewable energy companies, including utility-scale solar company Ausra, cellulosic ethanol maker Mascoma and Fisker Automotive, which is developing a plug-in-hybrid luxury car.
Of the 11 investments it has so far revealed, Kleiner Perkins has focused on applying computer-style technology research to solve energy production and distribution problems. It is seeking to create a network of companies that solve specific bottlenecks that have prevented a price-competitive supply chain from emerging for alternatives to coal or gas.
CHRONIC UNDERINVESTMENT? Continued...
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