Energy Secretary Nominee Calls for ‘Energy Abundance’ Through Innovation

Chris Wright, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for energy secretary, said that accelerating the work of the Department of Energy’s national labs will be one of his top priorities if he is confirmed. He plans to harness the labs’ R&D to expand energy production using all viable sources, including fossil fuels, renewables, and new technologies, he said in testimony before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday.

Wright is the CEO and founder of Denver-based fracking company Liberty Energy. Committee members expressed appreciation for Wright’s background, describing him as both a scientist and an entrepreneur, and commended his goal of increasing production to achieve “energy abundance.”

Members also probed his views on DOE’s research portfolio. Committee Ranking Member Martin Heinrich (D-NM) noted that the department is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences, despite much of its budget going to nuclear weapons and cleanup activities.

Wright pointed to the national labs as a key tool in contributing to the goal of expanding U.S. energy production, particularly through basic and applied research.

“Very important for me is to keep the labs focused and energized to work on science, basic fundamental science, but also science that will someday, and maybe someday soon, have applications to energy,” Wright said. “My mission would be to inspire people in the department, and in the labs, and across the network to focus on what’s most important for Americans, which is growing the supply of affordable, reliable, secure American energy.”

Wright also said the best role for government is supporting “basic research and helping launch new technologies that are just getting their footing.” He added that federal subsidies for mature industries like oil and gas are “less fruitful.”

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) asked if Wright would commit to not censoring unclassified DOE research, adding, “It is a very real possibility that you may be asked by incoming President Trump, maybe through one of his intermediaries, to not publish or to withhold or otherwise suppress DOE research and studies.” During his first administration, Trump was accused of interfering with federal agencies’ scientific work, such as by suppressing climate and environmental science.

Wright did not explicitly commit to publishing the research if asked not to do so, instead saying, “I will follow the scientific method, I will be honest… and follow the laws and statutes of our country.”

An “all of the above” approach

Wright said he wants to grow “all sources of affordable, reliable energy.” Asked to name what sources he has in mind, Wright said, “It’s different sources in different circumstances,” citing natural gas, coal, nuclear, and hydropower as major current sources, wind and solar as rapidly growing sources, and geothermal as a promising new source.

Committee members joined Wright in highlighting that his experience spans many energy sources. Wright worked on fusion as a student at MIT and solar at UC Berkeley before moving into the private sector. His company, Liberty Energy, is directly involved in oil, natural gas, and advanced geothermal, with partnerships in next-generation nuclear and battery technology. In introducing Wright to the committee, Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) also described the nominee’s previous work in wind energy and as an “innovator” for advanced geothermal, while also calling him an “unrestrained enthusiast for fossil fuels in almost every regard.”

Committee members raised examples of carbon capture technologies in their own states, such as carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery and blue hydrogen. Wright told Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) that he would commit to working with North Dakota on the former, which both captures carbon and recovers additional oil, but that it is too early for him to assess the tradeoffs between the different types of hydrogen production.

Wright also expressed enthusiasm for fusion and advanced geothermal energy, saying the technologies have “significant room to run.” Regarding fusion, “I would love to see that come to commercial power in the next decade,” he said.

Acknowledging climate change

Wright repeatedly stated in the hearing that climate change is occurring and is an issue. “Energy and climate is a global problem, but America should be the leader. And I think President Trump is firmly aligned with that position as well,” he said.

Wright has been a vocal skeptic of declarations that the world faces a “climate crisis.” For instance, Wright stated in a 2023 video that there has been no increase in the frequency or intensity of extreme weather events like hurricanes, droughts, and floods, citing reports from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. An IPCC report author and other scientists who had studies quoted by Wright later said he misrepresented their findings or got them completely wrong.

Committee Chair Mike Lee (R-UT) pointed to the Liberty Energy report “Bettering Human Lives” as a “clear-headed perspective” of the tradeoffs between the positive effects of energy production and the negative effects, namely global warming. The report states that burning fossil fuels has “brought the risk of climate change” but also “greatly improved the human condition.” In the 2023 video, Wright stated that the negative impacts of climate change to date were “clearly overwhelmed” by the benefits of increasing energy consumption.

Lee criticized the Biden administration’s effort across DOE and other agencies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions “without considering the consequences of this kind of unbalanced approach.”

Padilla criticized a 2023 comment from Wright dismissing the threat of wildfires as a result of climate change, where he wrote, “The hype over wildfires is just hype to justify more impoverishment from bad government policies.” Padilla then pointed to the current wildfires in Los Angeles, which have destroyed thousands of buildings and forced tens of thousands of residents to evacuate.

Wright expressed sorrow and fear over the LA fires and called climate change “a real and global phenomenon,” but said he stands by his previous comment.