Trump’s Pick for Energy Chief Vows to ‘Unleash’ US ExpansionTrump’s Pick for Energy Chief Vows to ‘Unleash’ US Expansion

(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump’s choice for energy secretary said the US should expand production of fossil fuels along with nuclear power, geothermal, and other technologies to make the nation’s energy more reliable and affordable. 

“The security of our nation begins with energy,” Chris Wright told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee during his confirmation hearing Wednesday. “Previous administrations have viewed energy as a liability instead of the immense national asset that it is.” 

Wright, the founder of Liberty Energy, an oil and natural gas fracking services company, said his priorities would also include focusing on innovation and technology breakthroughs. He praised the work of US national laboratories, voiced support for solar energy and carbon capture and stressed the need to build more transmission lines to make US grid more stable.

Chris Wright in Washington, DC, on January 15

The exchanges with senators largely were cordial. Senator Mike Lee, the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said Wright’s nomination was on track for a vote later this month.

Sen. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat who represents Wright’s home state of Colorado, introduced Wright saying he was optimistic the two of them could work together.

“He is a scientist who is open to discussion,” Hickenlooper said. 

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Wright did, however, face angry questioning from California Senator Alex Padilla, who noted the wildfires raging in Los Angeles are the worst in the state’s history and are linked to climate change. The Democrat asked Wright about his previous social media posts and comments dismissing the link between climate change and wildfires as “hype.”

“Given the devastation that we are currently experiencing in Los Angeles, do you still believe that wildfires are just hype?” Padilla asked.

Wright responded that it is “with great sorrow and fear that I watch what is happening in your city.” Nonetheless, Wright said he stands by his past comments. He added, however, that the blazes have been “horrific.”

“It’s horrible to watch what is happening in LA today,” Wright said. “These are the kind of things we want to protect people from.”

Testifying on his 60th birthday, Wright said during his opening remarks his first priority was to “unleash American energy at home and abroad to restore energy dominance,” a term that resonated throughout the first Trump administration.

As Liberty’s chief executive officer, Wright has been an unapologetic advocate for his industry, proclaiming the moral virtues of fossil fuels and even drank fracking fluid to refute opponents who questioned its safety. 

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The choice of Wright, who has no previous Washington experience, is indicative of the incoming president’s hard pivot toward fossil fuels after years of Biden administration policies that benefited renewable energy and sought to restrict global warming. 

Wright has long been an outspoken defender of fossil fuels, saying they’re crucial for spreading prosperity and lifting people from poverty. He has called the threat posed by climate change exaggerated.

“There is no climate crisis. And we are not in the midst of an energy transition either,” Wright said in a video posted on his LinkedIn page. “Life on earth is simply impossible without carbon dioxide — hence the term carbon pollution is outrageous.”

The hearing was disrupted several times by climate protesters, including by one who shouted to Wright: “Can your fracking fluid put out the fires in LA?”

In response to a question from Hickenlooper, Wright said he had studied climate change and that it was a “real issue.”  

The solution to slowing global warming, Wright said, involved investments by the Department of Energy to accelerate new technologies. “We should have nothing but American leadership in this area,” Wright said.

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In the past, Wright has assailed subsidies for wind and solar power. During his hearing, however, he stressed when questioned by Democrats that the technologies have a role a play. 

While the Energy Department has little authority over oil and gas development, Wright, if confirmed, would oversee an organization with a vast, complex mission that includes helping to maintain the nation’s nuclear warheads, studying supercomputers and maintaining the country’s several-hundred-million-barrel stockpile of crude oil.

Alluding to some of the department’s many responsibilities, Wright said, “We must protect and accelerate the work of the department’s national laboratory network to secure America’s competitive edge and its security.” 

The secretary also plays a crucial role in approving projects to export LNG, something that was paused during the Biden administration. 

Wright would also almost certainly be instrumental in trying to fulfill Trump’s promises to help the coal industry, build more power plants, expand electrical grids, and cut the overall price of energy by half. He will also serve on Trump’s newly created National Energy Council alongside North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, Trump’s choice for Interior secretary.