The perfect pick to lead Trump’s Department of Energy



How do you restore a bloated and misdirected U.S. Department of Energy to its originally intended purpose of assuring affordable and reliable American energy? The answer is to appoint a highly knowledgeable and successful energy producer to the position of Energy secretary. Donald Trump made the perfect pick in Chris Wright.

A mechanical and electrical engineer by training, Chris Wright is one of the people most responsible for the fracking revolution that freed America from the whims of hostile oil producers like Iran and Venezuela. He is currently the CEO of Liberty Energy, an oil and natural gas servicing company at the forefront of American oil and natural gas production. He also sits on the board of directors of Oklo Inc., an advanced nuclear technology company.

Under Trump and Chris Wright, American energy policy will return to holding our energy destiny in our own hands.

In other words, Wright possesses impressive knowledge and experience regarding a broad array of energy sources and technologies, and he has a track record of successfully bringing those energy options into the marketplace.

Perhaps most appealing about Wright is his refusal to give in to pressure tactics from leftist climate and environment activist groups. “There is no climate crisis, and we’re not in the midst of an energy transition, either,” Wright wrote on his LinkedIn page. Countering leftist fearmongering, Wright has visually illustrated that fracking fluid is not dangerous by drinking it in public.

Wright stands for an America that dictates energy policy to the rest of the world rather than being held captive by it. America has more oil, coal, and natural gas resources than any other nation on Earth, but we rarely act like it. Under Barack Obama and Joe Biden, government policy was to restrict American energy production under climate change rationale and then beg nations like Venezuela and Saudi Arabia to export more oil to us. Under Trump and Chris Wright, American energy policy will return to holding our energy destiny in our own hands.

The beauty of abundant domestic energy production is that if there is a Middle East crisis, or if OPEC decides to tighten its oil production, America is the nation that most benefits from the rising prices, rather than Russia, Iran, and Venezuela. More American energy production means prices are likely to return to Trump-era lows — but any foreign events that put pressure on energy markets will benefit America rather than other nations.

Under Wright, the U.S. Department of Energy will focus on spurring affordable and reliable American energy, not creating massive and ineffective boondoggles for climate change virtue-signaling. This is in stark contrast to the Department of Energy under the Biden administration and current Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

Granholm is a career politician and a partisan Democrat best known for giving over-caffeinated speeches at the 2012 and 2016 Democratic National Conventions. The Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate in 2021 approved Granholm as Energy secretary despite Granholm having absolutely no specialized experience or knowledge regarding energy issues. The result was predictable.

The Biden-Granholm DOE website lists climate change as a “top priority” of the DOE and boasts about all the DOE programs and DOE money being spent on climate change — instead of assuring affordable and reliable American energy. Yes, the percentage of wind and solar power in the American electricity mix rose from 11% in 2020 to 15% in 2024. The result of adding such expensive and unreliable energy to our electricity mix is that electricity prices rose a staggering 23% under Biden-Granholm, after rising less than 1% per year in the decade before Biden-Granholm.

Biden-Granholm’s effect on gasoline prices is even worse. Gasoline prices averaged just $2.48 under the Trump administration. They are averaging $3.45 under Biden-Granholm, which is 39% higher than under Trump.

Americans gave Donald Trump a mandate to halt runaway energy inflation. Americans want affordable and reliable energy rather than climate change virtue signaling. With a Department of Energy under the vision and leadership of Chris Wright, America will once again return to energy affordability and energy dominance. Wright is the perfect man for the job.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published by RealClearPolicy and made available via RealClearWire.

EPA Emission Rules Threaten To Shut Down Power Grid For Millions

President Joe Biden's climate agenda is likely to deliver blackouts for millions, according to a North Dakota state assessment of EPA rules.

ERCOT Admits Wind, Solar Power Alone Can’t Keep Texans Warm During Record-Breaking Arctic Blast

For the millions of Texans who ERCOT stranded in 2021, demands to reduce electricity usage look like another potential power grid collapse.

We Can’t Let Fossil Fuels Die Because They Keep Us Alive

It is not just cars and leaf blowers, stoves, or even air conditioning. What is at stake is much deeper: human dignity.

Smoke from Canada's wildfires caused US solar power production to plunge over 50%



There have been massive wildfires burning in Canada since the beginning of June. There are currently 416 active fires in Canada – 215 of the wildfires are considered "out of control," according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center.

Thick smoke has blanketed the Northeast United States in a dense orange haze that has led to air quality warnings. Another issue from the smoke is that it significantly lowered solar power production by over 50% in the United States.

Solar farms powering New England were generating 56% less power during periods of maximum demand than they did the previous week, according to the region's grid operator.

ISO New England, the operator of the energy grid, said on Thursday, "In recent days, smoke from wildfires in Canada has traveled to New England, significantly lowering production from solar resources in the region compared to what ISO New England would expect absent the smoke.”

"The smoke has also lowered actual temperatures in New England compared to what weather models are forecasting," the statement read. "This leads to lower demand on the regional grid, as there is less need for things like air conditioning."

ISO New England concluded, "These two factors — decreased production from solar resources and decreased consumer demand due to lower temperatures — has made forecasting demand for grid electricity challenging."

Matt Kakley, a spokesperson for ISO-New England energy grid operator, told Bloomberg that the situation is "really unprecedented," adding, "We don’t have a lot of historical data to look back on. There is some learning in real time."

The reduced production did not result in any power outages, mainly because solar power is not a prominent source of electricity in the area.

Solar power accounts for approximately 3% of New England's electricity, compared to 52% from natural gas and 26% from nuclear.

Other states across the country also faced diminished solar power production because of the wildfire smoke from Canada.

PJM Interconnection LLC, which provides electricity to 13 states from Illinois to North Carolina, noted that there was roughly a 25% drop in solar energy production from the prior week.

Dan Lockwood, a spokesperson for the PJM Interconnection, said, "Smoky conditions throughout the RTO this week have caused a reduction in visibility, reducing solar, and keeping temperatures several degrees lower than usual."

New York energy grid manager New York ISO stated, "Based on data compiled by New York ISO forecasters, smoke from Canada wildfires that’s blocking sunlight resulted in a combined reduction in peak solar energy production of 1,466 MW for June 6-7, for a two-day total peak production of 4,405 MW."

Previous wildfires have also caused decreased solar power production in Australia.

Solar Analytics, a solar monitoring company, found that rooftop photovoltaic systems in the Australian cities of Sydney and Canberra saw solar power output "plummet by 15 – 45% on heavy smoke haze days."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

House passes bipartisan bill to repeal Biden’s China solar rules

Biden has threatened to veto the legislation
Green Energy = World Peace?
play icon

Green Energy = World Peace?

The Biggest Winner In Biden’s Solar Panel Charade Is Communist China

Even if it means granting the communist Chinese government economic alleviation, Biden is willing to throw his own countrymen under the bus in pursuit of his nonexistent, 100 percent renewable energy utopia.

‘Can’t F*cking Do Anything’: Bill Maher Calls ‘Orwellian’ California The Democratic Party’s ‘Achilles Heel’

'There are too many people who are unnecessary in this equation'

How A ‘Green’ America Would Fuel China’s Growing Coal And Uyghur-Exploiting Solar Industries

To meet 'green' mandates, Americans will be coerced to purchase Chinese-made solar panels, made with not only fossil fuels but likely forced labor as well.