Wedoany.com Report-Jan 16, Chris Wright, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to head the U.S. Energy Department, told U.S. senators in his confirmation hearing on Wednesday his first priority is expanding domestic energy production including liquefied natural gas and nuclear power.
Wright, 60, believes fossil fuels are the key to ending world poverty, which is a greater problem than climate change's "distant" threat, according to a report he wrote as CEO of oilfield services company Liberty Energy (LBRT.N), opens new tab.
He is expected to win a majority in the 100-member Senate, now controlled by Republicans, and will step down from Liberty once confirmed.
"The solution to climate change is to evolve our energy system," Wright told the Senate energy committee. "Do I wish we could make faster progress, absolutely." Wright, an engineer, studied fusion energy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a technology scientists hope one day can help add power to the grid, but which faces hurdles.
Wright supports some fossil fuel alternatives, such as small nuclear power reactors, which are not yet commercially available, and geothermal power. He has criticized solar and wind power as insufficient.
"Previous administrations have viewed energy as a liability instead of the immense national asset that it is," Wright said.
"To compete globally, we must expand energy production, including commercial nuclear and liquefied natural gas, and cut the cost of energy for Americans."
President Joe Biden paused approvals for LNG exports and put restrictions on drilling on federal lands. Still, U.S. exports of LNG, a super-chilled exportable form of natural gas, hit a record in 2023, and the U.S. now produces oil at a higher rate than any other country ever has.
