Yesterday, at his Senate confirmation hearing, Chris Wright, nominee for U.S. U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary, advocated for a forward-thinking “all-of-the-above” energy strategy, integrating fossil fuels with renewables like wind, solar, geothermal, and nuclear. Wright emphasized practical solutions—expanding transmission infrastructure and investing —to drive affordable energy and emissions reductions. Brad Plumer from The New York Times notes that he “seem[ed] to signal to Republican and Democrats alike that he was on their side.
Appearing before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, however, Mr. Wright struck a more diplomatic tone. In his opening statement, he said his top priority was to “unleash” domestic energy production, including liquefied natural gas and nuclear power. Yet under questioning from Senate Democrats, he suggested that he agreed with many of their priorities as well. At one point, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, Democrat of Nevada, told Mr. Wright that “the conversation around energy should be balanced and not just focused on fossil fuels.” “I agree entirely,” Mr. Wright replied, going on to talk about the importance of less-polluting sources of energy like nuclear, geothermal, hydropower, wind and solar power.
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