Tom Casten
Thomas R. Casten | |
|---|---|
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, writer, advocate |
| Known for | Expertise in industrial energy recycling, founding president and CEO of Trigen Energy Corporation, founder of Primary Energy and Recycled Energy Development |
Thomas R. Casten is an American entrepreneur, writer, and advocate with expertise in industrial energy recycling. Since 1977, he has established and managed several enterprises dedicated to combined heat and power (cogeneration), decentralized energy, and waste energy recovery technologies.
A former U.S. Marine and Eagle Scout, Casten is also recognized as a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.
Education
Casten earned his degree with magna cum laude honors from the University of Colorado Boulder and graduated as valedictorian from Columbia Business School.
Career
From 1977 until 2000, Casten was the founding president and CEO of Trigen Energy Corporation, a company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Subsequently, he became the founding chair and CEO of Primary Energy along with its affiliate Primary Energy Recycling Corp, leading both until 2006. That year, he launched and chaired Recycled Energy Development (RED) based in Westmont, Illinois; RED was acquired by Ironclad Energy Partners in 2016. His companies focus on transforming waste heat into environmentally friendly power and steam, aiming to profitably lower energy expenses while decreasing greenhouse gas emissions.
Casten has held leadership roles in industry organizations such as the International District Energy Association and co-founded the World Alliance for Decentralized Energy, which advocates for combined heat and power, district heating, and distributed generation solutions. He has provided testimony before U.S. Congressional committees on energy matters and offered counsel to then-presidential candidate Barack Obama in 2008.
He authored Turning Off the Heat: Why America Must Double Energy Efficiency to Save Money and Reduce Global Warming and has contributed articles to outlets including American Scientist, the Detroit Free Press, Electricity Journal, and the Albuquerque Journal. His expertise in energy recycling has been highlighted in media such as Forbes, Smithsonian, Nature, US News, The Atlantic, Orian magazine, and National Public Radio.
Personal life
In 2015, Casten and his wife Judy celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary by completing the Chicago Marathon. Their son, Sean, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018. They have two additional children named Damien and Gillian.
Tom is the sole financial backer of SunshinePAC, which supported Sean Casten’s 2018 congressional campaign. This funding led to an FEC complaint filed in February 2022.