41. What is the current state of Clean Energy in USA? Discussion with President of Clean Choice Energy - Zoë Gamble
- maria02715
- 3 days ago
- 7 min read
In this episode of SustainNOW, we spoke with Zoë Gamble, a longtime leader in the renewable energy sector and President of CleanChoice Energy, a U.S.-based company making clean electricity more accessible for everyday people. From the complexity of building solar at scale to the philosophical grounding of why this work matters, Zoe gave us a lot to think about — and a clearer picture of where the energy transition really stands today.
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Zoë's academic journey started with and specialisation in environmental law from Vermont Law School. Moving quickly into the Energy industry, Zoë has been instrumental in various aspects of renewable energy, including project development, finance, and asset management. She has successfully raised over $2 billion in project financing and $475 million in corporate capital. She co-founded FLS Energy and Pine Gate Renewables, where she served as Chief Executive Officer.
Beyond her corporate roles, Zoë has actively influenced state and federal energy policies through various organizations and lobbying efforts. She was also the founding chairwoman of the Yadkin Riverkeeper.
At CleanChoice Energy, Zoë is dedicated to democratizing access to clean energy, aiming to make renewable sources more accessible to a broader audience.
🌍 The Global Outlook: Renewables Rising, But Is It Fast Enough?
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), renewables accounted for 93% of all new power capacity added in 2023, now reaching 46% of total global generating capacity. It’s a remarkable step forward — but progress doesn’t guarantee certainty.
As Zoe Gamble put it,
“we're all kind of living through a window of time in human history where we are being reminded almost daily that we really cannot predict the future.”
And she’s right — we can’t say with confidence that we’ll reach our 2050 climate goals. But as we explored in the episode, the past few years have shown an acceleration many didn’t think possible. Clean technologies are scaling faster, prices are falling, and even in politically divided regions, renewable deployment is surging.
Still, this moment demands more than optimism — it demands preparation. A key part of that is making clean energy systems smarter and more responsive. One of the biggest technical hurdles is timing: residential electricity use tends to peak in the evening, just as solar generation drops off — a disconnect known as the coincident generation problem: the mismatch between when clean energy is produced (day time) and for, residential electricity, use typically peaks in the evening.
What matters now is building energy systems that are resilient enough to navigate that uncertainty — systems that can adapt to shifting demand, weather extremes, and evolving technology.
To solve this, CleanChoice Energy is working toward a model that combines around 1 gigawatt of solar capacity with their own solar farms and combining ir with battery storage.
Understanding the US and European Energy Market:
In the United States, clean energy isn’t driven by idealism. It’s powered by policy instruments — namely tax credits and Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs).
Tax credits make it financially viable to build infrastructure. RECs are tradeable credits that represent the "clean" attribute of electricity. So even if your electrons come from a mixed grid, you can claim renewable energy by purchasing a REC.
It’s a system that works — but not without criticism. Zoe acknowledged that. In fact, CleanChoice Energy is moving beyond that model.
“If we can own generation that we built in an inflationary energy environment, that is a product that our customers will benefit from.”
When a company owns the solar farm, it can offer more stability. In a volatile global energy market. Being able to offer fixed pricing, reliable supply, and the confidence that their money is supporting something tangible.
Europe has long been ahead in renewables, driven more by regulation and carbon pricing than market-based tax incentives. The EU’s Emissions Trading System, direct subsidies, and mandates have shaped the development of clean energy — but the result is not always faster deployment.
Zoe noted how some European investors struggle with U.S. market mechanisms, especially tax equity, which doesn’t exist in the same form in Europe. The U.S. model is more complex — but also more agile in many ways.
In general
"the broader macro environment for renewables is going to continue the acceleration of renewables regardless of the of action or inaction by the Trump administration or the current Congress."
That said, both systems face the same challenge: speed.
Can We Still Reach 2050 Goals?
Yes — but not with business as usual.
Zoe didn’t sugarcoat the challenges. There are market failures, policy gaps, and structural inertia. But she also reminded us that we’re not just building infrastructure — we’re building meaning. And that matters more than we often admit.
“What’s in between here and there is enough people who relate to life as sacred. Because there are thousands of rocks floating in space that do not have life.”
Contact to Zoe & Clean Choice
Interesting Links:
Despite the political rhetoric, the US has seen extraordinary gains in conservative states
Texas produced almost twice as much wind and solar electricity as California, and now leads the country in solar manufacturing.
Also interesting:
Zoe Tells us about Mount Shasta. A beautiful place to have an epiphany indeed.
In this episode we address the following questions:
“What has been the pivotal moments in your life… from teenage years to now?”📍 00:34
First company post-law school📍 05:59
“How did you experience these two waves -of how renewable energy has been perceived?”📍 08:56
“Can you give me a big picture of the renewable sector in the US?”📍 10:39
“Can you give us a number… just to give a feeling for it?”📍 17:17
Renewable market trend under Biden vs. Trump: “Do you think it’s slowing down or accelerating?”📍 15:47
How energy is financed in the U.S.“Can you elaborate how they are financed?”📍 12:12
Advice to younger self: “If you could go back and give your younger self one piece of advice?”📍 46:09
Most ridiculous question about women in the climate sector: “What has been the most ridiculous question…?”📍 43:02
CleanChoice’s transition and future plans: “What kind of role can CleanChoice play in these trends?”📍 35:15
“Maybe you can talk a little bit about community solar?”📍 36:04
Looking back from 2050: “What do you think could be a turning point… to bring us to net zero?”📍 47:55
Memorable quotes from the episode by Berk:
“My passion for sustainability tracks back to a hike when I was 16y/o to Mount Shasta… when I got to the top I had a very clear sense of being one with the earth... and how much devastation was being wrought across it.”📍 03:28
“I find myself most connected to who I really am and a sense of my own spirituality when I'm in deep nature.”📍 03:38
“God's not gonna rain purpose down on you. You just need to pick a direction and start walking.”📍 04:36.31
“When I was in law school is when I started to understand the importance of energy and the impact that energy has on the greater environment. I started to see that that was a place that you just kept seeing as a theme over and over when you think about impacts.”📍 05:05
“I think it's a dance. I don't think of it as a wave. I think it was a dance. There's just always something going wrong. There's always some really, you know, existential problem to solve. And that's part of what makes the industry fun and exciting and challenging, makes it worth doing.”📍 09:38
“The broader macro environment for renewables is going to continue the acceleration of renewables regardless of the of action or inaction by the Trump administration or the current Congress.”📍 16:05
“When you talked about the first wave and the second wave, I guess the one thing I would just say is that during the first wave, it was a lot more expensive to build and things were a lot harder to do, and it wasn't fully certain that renewables would sort of prevail. In this second wave, the cost of renewables has come down so much, and there's such a demand, a need for new sources of energy.”📍 16:05
“And it's faster to build renewables than anything else. I mean, if you order, put in an order for a gas turbine today, it would take you 10 years to get it.”📍 16:05
“24 % of US electricity generation comes from wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, and biomass. In terms of the future, I think something like 90 % of new capacity that's filed in the US is renewable.”📍 17:53
“We're kind of entering into a window of time where things are really unpredictable. And I think that that uncertainty is the biggest headwind for renewables in general, but the dynamic changing markets of the need for new electricity is also a tailwind.”📍 19:01
“I think we're all kind of living through a window of time in human history where we are being reminded almost daily that we really cannot predict the future.”📍 19:29
“I think real power comes when we have commitments that are bigger than ourselves and we're willing to put all of our fear at stake in pursuit of making that happen.”📍 45:10
“But really what's in between here and there is enough people who relate to life as sacred. Because there are thousands of rocks floating around in space that do not have life.”📍 48:58.742
“So my best advice to myself would be to learn how to attune to what resonates as true.”📍 47:12.415
“And be willing to walk that path without clarity of outcome or destination.”📍 47:23.06
“The other little kind of hot tip I would give myself is that leaders don't have followers, they go first.”📍 47:40