WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate this week confirmed Chris Wright – former CEO and chairman of the Denver-based Liberty Energy Group – to be secretary of the Department of Energy.
Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper joined six other Democrats in backing the Colorado fossil fuel executive, who received a 59-38 approval in the Senate.
Wright describes himself as “all in on energy” and has worked on nuclear, solar and geothermal energy projects before founding Liberty Energy, a hydraulic fracking company, in 2011. He has acknowledged climate change as an issue but condemned Democrats’ efforts to mitigate climate change by limiting natural gas and oil production. Instead, he argues that the government should focus on investing in all forms of energy to reduce prices.
Just over a week after his hearing with the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, both Colorado senators released statements supporting Wright. Both said they disagreed with Wright on some things, but that they hoped to work together.
“Chris Wright is a scientist who has dedicated his life to the study and use of energy,” Hickenlooper said. “He believes in science and supports the research that will deliver the affordable, reliable, and clean energy that will not only lower costs but make our country more secure. While we don't always agree, we will work together because none of us have four years to wait to act.”
Bennet commended Wright as an “entrepreneur with deep expertise in energy innovation and technology.”
“He is passionate about strengthening America’s energy independence and lowering costs for Colorado families,” Bennet said. “While we don’t agree on everything, we look forward to working with him to ensure Colorado continues to lead the country in energy production and innovation.”
As secretary, Wright will join Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in implementing President Donald Trump’s energy agenda.
That agenda, which involves rolling back many Biden administration climate-focused regulations and embracing fossil fuels, is already underway. In his day-one executive orders, Trump froze leftover spending from the Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act, a law that prioritized clean energy development. He also restarted review of applications for natural gas exports and halted offshore wind power development.
At his Jan. 15 confirmation hearing with the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Wright didn’t shy away from acknowledging that burning fossil fuels contributes to climate change, but said he would work with any energy sources to “unleash energy security and prosperity” and implement Trump’s energy agenda.
Hickenlooper, who sits on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and lists climate change as one of his top priorities, questioned Wright about the potential for the DOE to create a “comprehensive plan on how we deal with the energy future but also take a hard look at climate change.”
Wright responded that he was “very interested in that idea” and said it was time for the Department “to look not just at energy and the energy trajectory we're on, but the other issues related to energy and top among them, climate change.”
Hickenlooper followed up, pressing Wright about how climate change is accelerating and asking how the DOE could help plan for natural disasters that result from climate change.
Wright replied that he had followed climate change science for over 20 years and said that climate change is a “global issue, it is a real issue, it is a challenging issue.”
“And the solution to climate change is to evolve our energy system,” he said. “… Do I wish we could make faster progress? Absolutely. Are there things we can do, investments, together through the DOE to accelerate the development of new energy technologies that are really the only pathway to address climate change? Absolutely. And we should have nothing but American leadership in this area.”
Wright said Trump is aligned with that position, as well.
Yet, Trump has previously called climate change a hoax and has not made addressing it a priority in his second term. One of his day-one executive orders pulled the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreements, a process that takes a year to complete.
The DOE is responsible for overseeing the nation’s nuclear stockpile, the department's 17 National Laboratories, the continued cleanup from the nation’s nuclear projects and the Department’s Power Marketing administrations, which sell energy from federally owned and operated hydroelectric dams. It also approves natural gas exports.
Kathryn Squyres is an intern for The Durango Herald and The Journal in Cortez and a student at American University in Washington, D.C. She can be reached at ksquyres@durangoherald.com.
