President-elect Donald Trump has announced his selection for the head of the Department of Energy: Chris Wright, a key figure in the oil and gas industry and a staunch advocate for the use of fossil fuels. Wright, founder and CEO of Liberty Energy, a Denver-based oilfield services company, is expected to endorse Trump’s strategy to increase oil and gas production and explore ways to enhance electricity production, a sector experiencing increasing demand for the first time in many years.
Wright’s stance on climate change aligns with Trump’s, opposing global collaborative efforts to combat it. The Liberty Energy CEO has been outspoken against climate change activists, terming them alarmist, and compared Democratic efforts to tackle global warming to Soviet-era communism. “There is no climate crisis, and we’re not in the midst of an energy transition, either,” Wright stated in a LinkedIn video last year.
Wright, despite lacking political experience, has often expressed the need for increased fossil fuel production as a means to alleviate poverty. He is known for his unorthodox style among oil and gas executives, self-describing as a tech geek. Wright gained media attention in 2019 when he consumed fracking fluid on camera to downplay its hazards.
U.S. oil production reached record levels under Biden, but it remains uncertain how much further Wright and the incoming administration could push this. Most drilling decisions are influenced by private companies operating on non-federal lands.
The Department of Energy, which Wright will lead if confirmed by the Senate, is responsible for U.S. energy diplomacy, managing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and administering grant and loan programs for advancing energy technologies. The Secretary also oversees the aging U.S. nuclear weapons complex, nuclear energy waste disposal, and 17 national labs.
Wright will succeed Jennifer Granholm if confirmed, a proponent of electric vehicles, emerging energy sources like geothermal power, and carbon-free wind, solar, and nuclear energy.
Wright will likely play a role in permitting electricity transmission and expansion of nuclear power, a popular but costly and complex energy source to permit among both Republicans and Democrats. The demand for power in the U.S. is booming for the first time in two decades, driven by the rise in artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, and cryptocurrencies.
