Bill Gates Recalls 1st High School Job Of Writing Software For Power Grid Company — Says This Is Key To Clean Energy Future

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates revealed in a recent blog post that his first high school job was “writing software for the entity that controls the power grid in the Northwest.” The billionaire touched on the world’s “clean energy future” and electricity transmission.

What Happened: Gates noted that at the beginning of the electric grid, most power companies placed power plants close to the cities but this model is ineffective with solar and wind because “many of the best places to generate lots of electricity are far away from urban centers.”

The Microsoft founder shared a video in which he said the amount of by the 2030s the United States would have to build so many new lines that they’d reach the moon.

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Why It Matters: Gates touched on the problems surrounding the grid infrastructure including its fragmentation and age.

“Our convoluted network prevents communities from importing energy when challenges like extreme weather shut off their power. It also prevents power from new clean energy projects from making it to people’s homes,” said Gates.

The tech mogul identified planning, paying, and permitting as the three main barriers that have stymied progress in improving electricity transmission in the United States.

Gates said transmission was key to “our clean energy future.” He said addressing barriers will “lead to lower emissions, cleaner air, more jobs, fewer blackouts, more energy and economic security, and healthier communities across the country.”

Recently, the billionaire philanthropist visited a closed-down coal-fired plant in West Virginia and was reported to be looking to expand his nuclear energy efforts to the east coast.

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Photo by COP26 on Flickr