Guest

Paige Lambermont - Research Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute

Guest Bio 

Paige Lambermont is a prominent energy policy analyst and researcher whose work focuses on grid reliability, optimal power resource allocation, and the technical integration of emerging technologies. A leading voice in nuclear power development and electricity infrastructure, Lambermont has authored definitive reports analyzing the structural intersection between massive artificial intelligence data demands and the national electricity infrastructure. Known for advocating a freedom-minded, private-capital approach to utility development, Lambermont works closely with research groups across the United States to examine state-level regulatory reform, renewable portfolio standards, and the economic feasibility of next-generation power systems. 

Show Summary

By 2030, the oncoming wave of artificial intelligence and high-tech data centers could consume as much electricity as 95 million American homes. In this episode of State of Gold, host Jon Slavet is joined by energy policy analyst Paige Lambermont to break down a looming infrastructure crisis and explain why California must reverse its decades-long ban on nuclear power plant development.

Lambermont exposes the stunning irony of California energy policy: The state relies heavily on importing power from neighboring grids, and overseas oil, while intentionally excluding stable base-load power sources like nuclear and large hydro from its net-zero energy goals.

The discussion dives deep into real-world economics and safety, with Lambermont dismantling historical PR panics surrounding Three Mile Island and Fukushima, and showing how France successfully secures and recycles its closed-cycle nuclear waste. From evaluating Germany’s catastrophic "energy transition" failure to outlining how consumer-regulated, off-grid utilities can protect small businesses from soaring $7 gas prices, this episode is a clear-eyed look at why a booming economy cannot survive on a low-energy diet.

Chapters

00:00 – The 95 Million Homes Stat: Sizing up the AI Data Center Power Surge

00:58 – Silicon Valley Irony: Categorically Banning Nuclear in Tech’s Capital

01:43 – The Accounting Game: Why California Imports 15% of its Nuclear Power

02:22 – Private Industry vs. Poured Concrete: Lowering the Regulatory Barriers

04:43 – Intentionally Breaking the Grid: The Distortion of Energy Subsidies

06:49 – Defining Work: Why There Are No Wealthy, Low-Energy Societies

08:35 – Exposing the Hypocrisy: Tanker Emissions and the Reality of Energy Imports

10:06 – $7 Gas Insanity: The Hidden Squeeze of California’s Fuel Taxes

11:43 – Recalibrating Safety: The Real Science of Meltdowns and Passive Measures

13:00 – The Ethics vs. Safety Panics: Germany’s Energy Transition Warning

14:38 – The French Model: Closed-Cycle Uptime and 80% Nuclear Base-Loads

15:46 – 18-Month Straight Runs: Explaining the 93% Capacity Factor

16:31 – NRC Standards: National Security, Sleepers, and Airplane-Strike Scrutiny

18:42 – Freedom-Minded Utilities: Tracking Best and Worst State Spectrums

19:47 – Rapid Fire: Prizing European Scarcity over Economic Productivity

View the report here:
https://www.independent.org/wp-content/uploads/article/2026/04/2026_04_cagf_nuclear.pdf

Connect with Paige Lambermont

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paige-lambermont-93aa32128
• Website: https://cei.org/experts/paige-lambermont/
• X: https://x.com/paigelambermont
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paigelambermont/

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