Gordon W Tomb

Senior Fellow

Topics

2026-11-03
The Net-Zero Illusion: Gordon Tomb on Green Mandates and the Grid
In the latest episode of the Powering America Podcast, host Bryan Hyde interviews Gordon W. Tomb, a Senior Fellow at the Commonwealth Foundation, about the implications of green energy mandates on electricity prices and reliability. Tomb discusses Pennsylvania's Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards, which require a percentage of electricity to come from renewable sources, and critiques the effectiveness and economic impact of such policies. He argues that fossil fuels and nuclear power remain the most viable energy sources for affordable electricity, while highlighting the political challenges in shifting energy policy.
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“The stated purpose for this particular program, which was initiated in 2004, more than 20 years ago, was to give these energy sources a foothold, a kind of a boost so that they could develop and gain market share.”
“At this point, of all the electricity generated in Pennsylvania, 4% comes from so-called renewable sources. After 20 years, and billions of dollars. What is the point?”
“It's totally irrational. And as I mentioned, people are starting to back away from it.”
“The energy breakthrough that will take the world into the 21st century will almost certainly be political, not technological.”
“Wind and solar will take 10 times and more, in some cases, 10 times the land for to produce the same amount of energy that traditional sources take.”
“I think the general principle would be to have policy guided by rational, clear-headed thinking.”