Path to Zero Podcast:: Breaking Bottlenecks in America’s Energy Future with Drew Bond, C3 Solutions

When it comes to energy policy, Drew Bond believes optimism is warranted — not because challenges are small, but because solutions are within reach. The co-founder, president, and CEO of C3 Solutions (the Conservative Coalition for Climate Solutions) returned to Path to Zero to share his perspective on innovation, market-driven solutions, and the policy shifts reshaping America’s energy future.

Bond, who has served as an energy policy advisor in the U.S. Senate, the Department of Energy, and the private clean tech sector since the late 1990s, founded C3 Solutions in 2020 to give conservatives and free-market advocates a productive way to engage on climate.

“Whether you think climate is the most urgent crisis or you think it’s overblown, the solutions are the same — innovation, competition, and abundant, affordable, reliable, clean energy,” he said.

From Spending to Building
Bond sees the shift from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” not as a setback, but as a course correction. While the IRA poured billions into subsidies, he says the real bottleneck is permitting and regulation.

“Our problem hasn’t been spending, it’s been building. In the U.S., it can take two to ten years, or never, to get energy projects approved.”
He praised provisions like permanent full expensing, which allows businesses to write off investments immediately, a policy he calls “technology-neutral” and far more impactful than targeted tax credits.

The Grid Under Strain

Recent DOE reports on grid reliability didn’t surprise Bond. Between aging infrastructure, surging demand from AI and data centers, and variable renewable generation, the system faces mounting stress.

Still, he sees near-term relief from “off-the-shelf” solutions like solar-plus-battery systems, U.S.-based manufacturing investments and “reconductoring” transmission lines to increase capacity without building new corridors.

He’s cautiously optimistic about “virtual power plants” that aggregate backup generation from data centers and other facilities, provided operators agree to share capacity during peak needs.

The Case for Nuclear Energy
Bond sees nuclear power as a critical part of the clean energy mix, particularly as a reliable, zero-emission baseload source. He notes that even environmental groups once opposed to nuclear are beginning to reconsider.
“The environmental left has finally started to come around in support of nuclear as a baseload clean power,” he observed.
While advanced nuclear technologies such as small modular reactors (SMRs) are generating excitement, Bond stresses that large-scale deployment is still years away. Many projects are likely to serve specific, high-demand users such as data centers rather than the broader grid at first. In the meantime, he advocates keeping existing nuclear plants online as long as safely possible to maintain reliability and avoid backsliding into higher-emission generation.
For Bond, the future of nuclear depends less on subsidies and more on clearing regulatory hurdles that slow construction. Permitting reform, he argues, will be just as important as technological breakthroughs.

A Global Perspective: Expanding Energy Access Worldwide

While critical of Germany’s energy missteps and the EU’s shifting emissions targets, Bond says the U.S. is leading in practical energy infrastructure development. But he emphasizes that climate policy shouldn’t stop at national borders.

For Bond, one of the most important global goals is expanding access to affordable, reliable energy for the nearly one billion people who still live without electricity. He points out that in parts of Africa, families still cook indoors over wood or dung fires, inhaling dangerous smoke that damages health and shortens lives.

“The target should be increasing access to energy to as many people as possible around the world,” he said. “When you wake up wondering where your next meal is coming from, the environment isn’t your top priority. Energy access changes that.”

Bond highlights efforts like propane cookstove programs in Africa, which reduce indoor air pollution, improve safety, and free up time for women and children who often spend hours gathering fuel. He believes the U.S. can lead not just by exporting energy — whether natural gas, propane, solar, or batteries — but also by sharing the technologies, expertise, and policy models that enable developing nations to leapfrog to cleaner, more efficient systems.

Why Agriculture Matters in Climate Policy
C3 Solutions includes agriculture in its mission because, as Bond puts it, “farmers were the first environmentalists.” He applauds innovation in regenerative practices, efficiency gains, and forest management — pushing back against policies that, in his view, punish producers rather than support practical environmental stewardship.