Energy Department focused on more energy? Refreshing
The U.S. Energy Department, under the leadership of Secretary Chris Wright, announced its priorities last week in a Secretarial order.
The order reads, in part:
1. Advance Energy Addition, Not Subtraction:
Great attention has been paid to the pursuing of a net-zero carbon future. Net-zero policies raise energy costs for American families and businesses, threaten the reliability of our energy system, and undermine our energy and national security. They have also achieved precious little in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. The fact is that energy matters, and we need more of it, not less. Going forward, the Department’s goal will be to unleash the great abundance of American energy required to power modern life and to achieve a durable state of American energy dominance.
This is a strong reorientation of the Department’s priorities, especially its focus on “the reliability of our energy system.” The Department also promises that “the Department’s [Research and Development] efforts will prioritize affordable, reliable, and secure energy technologies, including fossil fuels, advanced nuclear, geothermal, and hydropower.”
Another promising priority is the Department’s desire to “promote affordability and consumer choice in home appliances.” The Energy Department will review its Appliance Standards Program and require standards to “include a cost-benefit analysis considering the upfront cost of purchasing new products and reflecting actual cost savings for American families.” The Biden administration finalized efficiency standards for clothes washers, clothes dryers, refrigerators, freezers, and more that force consumers into more expensive choices that often don’t work as well.
The order continues with more priorities that will be good news for grid reliability:
7. Unleash Commercial Nuclear Power in the United States:
The long-awaited American nuclear renaissance must launch during President Trump’s administration. As global energy demand continues to grow, America must lead the commercialization of affordable and abundant nuclear energy. As such, the Department will work diligently and creatively to enable the rapid deployment and export of next-generation nuclear technology.
8. Strengthen Grid Reliability and Security:
Fortifying America’s electric grid is critical to the reliable and secure delivery of electricity. Under President Trump’s Executive Order, “Declaring a National Energy Emergency,” the Department will identify and exercise all lawful authorities to strengthen the nation’s grid, including the backbone of the grid, our transmission system. This is an imperative as we consider current and anticipated load growth on our nation’s electric utilities. Moreover, after two decades of very slow demand growth, electricity demand is forecast to soar in the coming years. The Department will bring a renewed focus to growing baseload and dispatchable generation to reliably meet growing demand.
9. Streamline Permitting and Identify Undue Burdens on American Energy:
A burdensome federal permitting process undermines America’s competitiveness and national security. Pursuant to President Trump’s Executive Orders, the Department will prioritize more efficient permitting to enable private sector investments and build the energy infrastructure needed to make energy more affordable, reliable, and secure. To that end, the Department will identify and exercise its legal authorities to expedite the approval and construction of reliable energy infrastructure.
It’s vital that the U.S. prioritize more nuclear power, which is a reliable, zero-carbon baseload source of energy that will have lower system-wide costs than wind and solar, which would become prohibitively expensive given natural gas backups, battery storage, and more transmission lines. Permitting is also critical for projects of all kinds, which Debra Struhsacker and I highlight in Mission Impossible: Mineral Shortages and the Broken Permitting
Process Put Net Zero Goals Out of Reach.
An Energy Department focused on more energy? Refreshing. There will surely be more to come.