Argued for redirecting solar and wind subsidies toward energy storage and hard-to-abate sectors

Gates publicly argued that solar and wind energy had matured to the point where they no longer needed the same level of government subsidy that drove their initial deployment, and that redirecting clean energy incentives toward energy storage, green hydrogen, direct air capture, and industrial decarbonization would yield greater climate impact per dollar spent. He made the case in interviews, essays, and Breakthrough Energy materials that the hardest parts of the energy transition — not electricity generation but steel, cement, aviation, and agriculture — were receiving a fraction of the attention and capital they needed. The argument was influential in shaping Breakthrough Energy Catalyst's sector priorities.