Publications: Robin Gaster

Electricity demand is growing rapidly and starting to strain the grid. Instead of slowing the growth of data centers, the United States should deploy new technologies and strategies to efficiently increase grid capacity while accelerating new generation and transmission.

Robin Gaster argues that as the U.S. races toward a nuclear revival, it must first absorb France’s hard-earned lessons on cost overruns, delays, and governance failures to avoid repeating the same expensive mistakes.

France has embarked on an ambitious program to build at least six new large nuclear reactors, applying lessons from recent overruns and delays. While success is far from guaranteed, there are important lessons for the United States as it seeks to jump-start its own nuclear sector through recent ambitious executive orders.

In his latest for Utility Dive, Robin Gaster argues that small modular reactors could be America’s next big clean-energy edge—if Washington backs them with a smart, sustained strategy to cut costs, de-risk deployment, and outpace global competitors.

In an op-ed for RealClearEnergy, Robin Gaster and David Hart argue the Senate is the last line of defense against the Trump Administration;s push to cut clean energy spending.

President Trump’s executive order takes aim at nuclear regulations, but without broader support for innovation, development, and scale-up, America’s nuclear ambitions will remain stuck on the launchpad.

A recent manifesto from the Council on Foreign Relations argues emerging economies must slash their emissions—and to that end, “Every tool of the United States and allies’ arsenals, spanning diplomatic and economic coercion to military might, should be on the table.” This green imperialism is both profoundly, irredeemably immoral and unrealistic.

Hydrogen hype has crashed headfirst into economic reality—billions wasted, markets abandoned, and mobility in ruins—proving the U.S. must stop chasing fantasies and start stress-testing clean energy bets before they flop.

Standard large nuclear reactors won’t achieve scale or cost competitiveness with alternative energy sources. DOE should focus its resources on small modular reactors, which are a more promising technology with the potential to achieve price and performance parity.

Clean energy only scales when it matches fossil fuels on price and performance—but Biden-era policy bet big on tech that never will.