could not join on the favourable terms he normally extracted – offering the Virgin brand instead of hard cash – but caught up in the philosophy of Khosla and others, he finally decided not to be left behind. Then, his publicists revealed that Branson and media mogul Ted Turner had discussed ethanol over dinner. Turner had signalled his interest in the environment by contributing $1 billion to the United Nations Foundation and creating the Energy Future Coalition. Once the tabloid newspapers heard that Branson and Turner had discussed rescuing the planet, biofuels were blessed by the media as potential saviours and Branson was hailed as a hero for being appointed by Turner to the Energy Future Coalition’s steering committee, of which Khosla was also a member. One of the committee’s priorities was to lobby the US government to grant bigger subsidiesfor developing renewable and alternative fuels from crops. The ‘ethanolites’ wanted their profits to be guaranteed.
In early 2006, Branson announced that Virgin Fuels would invest $60 million in Cilion. For him, that was an unusually large commitment in a project over which he lacked even limited influence. He was gripped, and in April increased Virgin’s commitment to invest in the ‘world’s biggest’ factories, which would produce 100 million gallons of bioethanol a year, to $230 million. The company by then held a majority stake in factories in Indiana and Tennessee.
The following month, his enthusiasm appeared to be justified. Senator Hillary Clinton introduced a bill in Congress to create a $50 billion ‘strategic energy fund’ to expand the use of ethanol. Her support was a surprise. Previously, she had opposed subsidies for ethanol but, without explanation, she switched, and Khosla received approval for the Mascoma Corporation in Rochester, New York, to convert forest products into cellulosic ethanol. The Greater Rochester Enterprise group published their thanks to Mrs Clinton for her efforts in also obtaining permits for Cilion’s two ethanol plants. Those had been negotiated by Yucaipa, who in turn were advised by Bill Clinton. The project, Jerry Wilhelm of the Greater Rochester Enterprise group volunteered in a seventeen-page report, ‘would not have happened without the senator’. One month later, Khosla repeated his commitment to build nine bioethanol corn refineries in America, using government subsidies for the $160 million programme. The first three factories in California, he confirmed, would be operational by 2008. Branson appeared to have bet on a winner.
Gripped by what he referred to as a ‘golden opportunity’ for the Virgin brand and his business, Branson stepped up his commitment. In June, he won approval from the British government to use a mixture of bioethanol and diesel on Virgin’s cross-country rail routes and was granted a tax reduction. A monthlater, he said that Virgin’s investment in renewable fuels would increase to $1 billion over the next four years.
Shai Weiss, his adviser and representative on Cilion’s board, was a former banker with the gift of being able to talk a good story. With Weiss’s help, Branson intended to combine Virgin’s commercial investment with a political campaign to promote his environmental convictions. ‘We plan to move into this sector in a big way,’ said Branson. Calling his plan the Gaia Capitalism Project after a theory developed by his favourite scientist, James Lovelock, Branson mentioned that his future investments would include wind turbines and nuclear power. ‘In a few years it will be a major field for us,’ he said. ‘Nothing is off the agenda.’ To boost his cause, he began repeating the mantra, ‘The world is fast running out of oil and minerals.’
Flying in his Falcon at 38,000 feet over the Andes or across Africa’s bush, he had clearly not understood that the mines below could produce sufficient copper, iron, sulphur and other minerals to sustain the world’s
In early 2006, Branson announced that Virgin Fuels would invest $60 million in Cilion. For him, that was an unusually large commitment in a project over which he lacked even limited influence. He was gripped, and in April increased Virgin’s commitment to invest in the ‘world’s biggest’ factories, which would produce 100 million gallons of bioethanol a year, to $230 million. The company by then held a majority stake in factories in Indiana and Tennessee.
The following month, his enthusiasm appeared to be justified. Senator Hillary Clinton introduced a bill in Congress to create a $50 billion ‘strategic energy fund’ to expand the use of ethanol. Her support was a surprise. Previously, she had opposed subsidies for ethanol but, without explanation, she switched, and Khosla received approval for the Mascoma Corporation in Rochester, New York, to convert forest products into cellulosic ethanol. The Greater Rochester Enterprise group published their thanks to Mrs Clinton for her efforts in also obtaining permits for Cilion’s two ethanol plants. Those had been negotiated by Yucaipa, who in turn were advised by Bill Clinton. The project, Jerry Wilhelm of the Greater Rochester Enterprise group volunteered in a seventeen-page report, ‘would not have happened without the senator’. One month later, Khosla repeated his commitment to build nine bioethanol corn refineries in America, using government subsidies for the $160 million programme. The first three factories in California, he confirmed, would be operational by 2008. Branson appeared to have bet on a winner.
Gripped by what he referred to as a ‘golden opportunity’ for the Virgin brand and his business, Branson stepped up his commitment. In June, he won approval from the British government to use a mixture of bioethanol and diesel on Virgin’s cross-country rail routes and was granted a tax reduction. A monthlater, he said that Virgin’s investment in renewable fuels would increase to $1 billion over the next four years.
Shai Weiss, his adviser and representative on Cilion’s board, was a former banker with the gift of being able to talk a good story. With Weiss’s help, Branson intended to combine Virgin’s commercial investment with a political campaign to promote his environmental convictions. ‘We plan to move into this sector in a big way,’ said Branson. Calling his plan the Gaia Capitalism Project after a theory developed by his favourite scientist, James Lovelock, Branson mentioned that his future investments would include wind turbines and nuclear power. ‘In a few years it will be a major field for us,’ he said. ‘Nothing is off the agenda.’ To boost his cause, he began repeating the mantra, ‘The world is fast running out of oil and minerals.’
Flying in his Falcon at 38,000 feet over the Andes or across Africa’s bush, he had clearly not understood that the mines below could produce sufficient copper, iron, sulphur and other minerals to sustain the world’s
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