Why America Can't Build Big Things Anymore | Tom Fanning

There are 43 years of decisions compressed into this episode.
And if you work in energy, utilities, infrastructure, manufacturing, or public policy, it's worth your attention.
Tom Fanning spent four decades at Southern Company, including 13 years as CEO, helping guide one of the largest and most influential power companies in the United States through extraordinary change. Along the way, he oversaw everything from international development and grid modernization to cyber security and the completion of Vogtle, the first new commercial nuclear plant built in America in more than 30 years.
In this special Energy Empire x SunCast collaboration, Jigar Shah and Nico Johnson sit down with Tom to explore what it actually takes to build large-scale infrastructure in America.
If you heard this conversation first on Energy Empire, we're excited to bring it to the SunCast audience as well.
The conversation begins with Vogtle, but quickly expands into a broader discussion about leadership, national competitiveness, energy markets, workforce development, cyber security, and the future of the electric grid.
Tom shares why he believes "vision and courage" remain the most important ingredients in building transformational projects, why organized electricity markets struggle to support long-duration infrastructure investments, and why America needs a coherent national energy strategy if it hopes to meet growing demand from AI, manufacturing, and electrification.
Expect to learn:
🔹 Why Tom believes America has lost the ability to build major infrastructure projects efficiently
🔹 The two words he credits for completing Vogtle despite bankruptcy, COVID, and years of setbacks
🔹 Why organized electricity markets struggle to support large-scale nuclear investment
🔹 What workforce shortages reveal about the future of U.S. manufacturing and energy
🔹 How cyber threats have evolved and what keeps utility leaders awake at night
🔹 Why Tom believes energy policy is now inseparable from national security
🔹 What a true national energy strategy would look like and why America needs one
This is not a conversation about technology.
It's a conversation about execution.
About what it takes to align capital, talent, institutions, and political will around projects that take decades to build and generations to benefit from.
If you've ever wondered why some nations seem capable of building at scale while others struggle to move beyond planning, this episode offers one of the clearest perspectives you'll hear all year.
Hit play. One of the most experienced voices in American energy has a lot to say, and he's not wasting any of it.