A video of newly confirmed U.S. Secretary of Energy (DOE) Chris Wright posted to the agency’s Instagram account this week shows the fossil fuel executive arriving for his first day of work, greeted warmly by DOE employees.
At the end of the video, the DOE’s emblem flashes, along with the line, “Unleashing American ENERGY DOMINANCE”.
The slogan is highly representative of President Donald Trump’s energy agenda and was mirrored in Wright’s first signed secretarial order, where the former Liberty Energy CEO described a “consequential moment in American history.”
“To compete globally, we must expand energy production and reduce energy costs for American families and businesses,” reads the Feb. 5 order. “America must lead the world in innovation and technology breakthroughs, which includes accelerating the work of the Department’s National Laboratories.”
Wright is placing a particular emphasis on baseload and dispatchable generation. He said DOE’s R&D efforts would prioritize fossil fuels, advanced nuclear, geothermal and hydropower.
He said the department must prioritize technological breakthroughs, such as nuclear fusion, high-performance computing, quantum computing and AI, to maintain America’s global competitiveness.
The order underscores the need for American leadership in the global artificial intelligence race and the expected electricity needs projected by AI. Various projections expect U.S. load growth driven by AI data centers to at least double by 2030.
To that end, Wright said the U.S. must leverage its abundant oil and gas resources, a reflection of President Trump’s “drill baby drill” mantra.
On January 20, DOE resumed consideration of pending applications to export American liquefied natural gas (LNG) to countries without a free trade agreement (FTA) with the U.S. in accordance with the Natural Gas Act.
In following the President’s Executive Order, “Declaring a National Energy Emergency,” Wright said the department would work to identify and exercise all lawful authorities to strengthen the nation’s transmission system.
“This is an imperative as we consider current and anticipated load growth on our nation’s electric utilities,” said Wright.
In accordance with Trump’s order, Wright said DOE would also prioritize more efficient permitting to speed up energy infrastructure and remove barriers to progress, “including federal policies that make it too easy to stop projects and far too difficult to complete projects.”
While the previous administration was supportive of nuclear power, Wright said, “the long-awaited American nuclear renaissance must launch during President Trump’s administration.”
He said DOE would work to enable the rapid deployment and export of next-generation nuclear reactors.
In a letter posted by the American Nuclear Society (AWS), the organization’s CEO congratulated Wright, but noted the DOE leader would spend more time than he thinks preparing nuclear budgets, adding “Don’t let the bean counters steal from you!”
“America was once the dominant supplier of civil nuclear energy technologies to the world, but we have allowed our supply chain to atrophy,” said AWS CEO Craig Piercy. “Today, China is running circles around us in new builds.”
Piercy said restoring U.S. commercial nuclear capabilities would be a long, hard, expensive road, but worth it, “for jobs, economic growth and national security.”
Wright, in his secretarial order, took a swipe at net-zero policies, saying they raise energy costs for Americans, threaten reliability and undermine energy and national security.
“[Net-zero policies] have also achieved precious little in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions,” said Wright. “The fact is that energy matters, and we need more of it, not less.”
Key appointments announced
Wright also announced DOE senior leadership appointments on Feb. 6. The appointees will lead various departments, including infrastructure, public affairs, clean energy, and fossil energy.
Key senior staff appointments include:
Office of the Secretary
Alexander Fitzsimmons, Chief of Staff
Audrey Barrios, Advisor to the Secretary
Mike Kopp, Senior Advisor to the Secretary
Conner Prochaska, Senior Advisor
Theodore Garrish, Senior Advisor
John LaValle, White House Liaison
Samuel Fodale, Deputy White House Liaison
Office of the Under Secretary for Infrastructure
Steven Winberg, Acting Secretary
Office of Public Affairs
Andrea Woods, Deputy Director
Ben Dietderich, Press Secretary and Chief Spokesperson
Office of Management
Ashley Hebert, Director, Scheduling and Advance
Isabelle Lamanna, Director of Scheduling
Office of the Chief Financial Officer
Joshua Jones, Senior Advisor
Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations
Curt Coccodrilli, Senior Advisor
Cathleen Tripodi, Executive Director
Office of Science
Christian Newton, Chief of Staff
Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization
Charles Smith, Director
Loan Programs Office
John Sneed, Director
Grid Deployment Office
Joseph Alexander, Chief of Staff
Christina Francone, Senior Advisor
Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs
Shawn Affolter, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary
Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy and Carbon Management
Tala Goudarzi, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary
Kevin Tatulyan, Chief of Staff
Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Louis Hrkman, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary
Assistant Secretary for Electricity
Catherine Jereza, Senior Advisor
Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management
Roger Jarrell, Senior Advisor
Assistant Secretary for International Affairs
William Joyce, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary
Andrew Rapp, Senior Advisor
State And Community Energy Programs
Eric Mahroum, Director
Originally published in Factor This Power Engineering.
