New Energy Secretary Chris Wright is providing the first looks at his agenda and style since winning Senate confirmation — and leaving big funding questions unanswered.

State of play: The fracking exec who also backs clean-tech companies addressed the agency yesterday and issued a memo outlining priorities. Toplines in the memo include:

• A "comprehensive review" of DOE's appliance efficiency standards program to ensure it "does not regulate products that consumers value out of the market."
• Refilling the SPR; a return to "regular order" on LNG approvals; a renewed focus on growing "baseload and dispatchable" generation; and faster permitting.

A few high-level takeaways...

🌎 Climate is shoved in the backseat...The memo's call for "energy addition, not subtraction" bashes "net zero" policies, alleging they raise costs and undermine reliability and security.

🚗 ...but it's still in the car. Wright, contra Trump, called climate change a "very real thing" onstage.

• But the remarks made clear he sees access — from fossil fuels or otherwise — for people worldwide facing energy poverty as far more important.
• Affordability is also key domestically, he said, noting around 10% of Americans have gotten a utility disconnection notice in the last year.
• He argued climate change has gotten "politicized" and "not really about the math anymore." (His views on climate risk contradict many scientists.)

💵 Money mysteries remain. Wright didn't get into how he'll approach Biden-era grant and loan finance for commercial deployment that's now in limbo.

🔍 He seems more psyched about some sources than others. The memo says DOE's R&D should prioritize sources including "fossil fuels, advanced nuclear, geothermal, and hydropower."

• Onstage, meanwhile, he criticized Germany's wind and solar deployment in an extended riff about its energy policies, saying they're expensive and sapping its industrial competitiveness.

⚛️ Wright's very keen on nuclear for industrial energy. He noted that currently, all U.S. nuclear feeds power grids.

• While that's "awesome," he talked up nuclear's potential as a process heat source for heavy industries. The memo is also pro-nuclear overall.
• "You can't build a plane or a train or an automobile or an internet or an electrical grid without metals and materials," he said onstage.
• It's a reminder that supplying heavy industry is a prospective area for small modular reactors. Wright resigned his seat on nuclear startup Oklo's board as a result of his confirmation.

👕 He went for a chill vibe. Wright had a casual, chatty demeanor onstage, at one point joking, "I took the tie off so that my mom would recognize me."

Countries are due to submit their next round of greenhouse gas emissions reduction commitments by Feb. 10 — and the vast majority will miss the deadline.

Why it matters: These commitments, known as nationally determined contributions or NDCs, will shape the next round of UN climate negotiations in Brazil, slated to take place in November.

• The impending U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, plus the paucity of on-time submissions, is casting a shadow over the UN climate process, however.

Zoom in: In fact, recent reporting revealed that Indonesia, one of the world's 10 largest emitters, is questioning the need to meet its own targets now that the U.S. is withdrawing from Paris for a second time under President Trump.

• And Argentina may also be contemplating its own Paris departure.
• The first time the U.S. withdrew, no country followed its example.

State of play: So far, the U.K., Switzerland, Japan, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, New Zealand and the U.S. (prior to Trump's inauguration) have submitted new NDCs.

Between the lines: David Waskow of the nonprofit World Resources Institute notes that NDCs submitted to date represent about 16% of global emissions, with more NDCs likely to come before the next U.N. General Assembly in September.

• "While most nations will not deliver their plans this month, it's far better to have strong commitments later this year than rushed, weak ones now," Waskow said in a statement.
• "Leaders must not treat this process as a box-checking exercise. Weak plans mean a bleak future, plain and simple. 2025 is the year to step up."

That's ☝️ the image on a lapel pin solar industry executives are wearing during this week's Capitol Hill lobbying push to maintain clean energy tax credits.

Why it matters: The Trump-y "dominance" frame shows how low-carbon sectors are trying to navigate D.C.'s new landscape (h/t Washington Post).

Threat level: Various energy incentives and other support face jeopardy as Republicans craft budget plans and federal agencies halt funding.

• The Solar Energy Industries Association and other cleantech groups are fanning out across Capitol Hill, making their cases in person and new letters.
• A solar and storage industry letter emphasizes their footprint in every state, saying they support over 280,000 jobs.

What we're watching: The fate of IRA credits as Republicans get down to brass tacks on their budget bills.

DOGE representatives at NOAA are combing through IT databases to find employees associated with DEI initiatives, according to sources familiar at the oceans and atmosphere agency.

Why it matters: How Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency handles NOAA's information resources and workforce is critical for Americans since the agency provides severe weather warnings, researches climate change, protects fisheries and more.

State of play: Employees were told DOGE is looking for "DEI content," the person familiar stated.

• Two agency sources who requested anonymity for fear of retribution identified a DOGE employee at NOAA who is in the agency's online personnel directory, with a non-working phone number.
• A request for comment to that person's NOAA email address wasn't immediately returned.

How it works: According to one NOAA source, employees were emailed late Tuesday night and told to give this person edit access to internal intranet sites.

• Axios viewed a copy of the email that cited instructions from acting Secretary of Commerce Jeremy Pelter and acting NOAA Administrator Nancy Hann.
• These sites would include employee resource groups, such as Pride at NOAA and Women at NOAA.

Full story

⚛️ Small modular reactor startup X-energy said its Series C round has swelled, closing at $700 million from the previously announced $500 million.

• New investors in the "upsized" round include Segra Capital Management, Jane Street, Ares Management funds, and Emerson Collective.

⚖️ Via Bloomberg, "Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., and other oil giants successfully convinced a New Jersey judge to toss the state's climate misinformation lawsuit, according to an order issued on Wednesday."

That's how much global renewables giant Ørsted is paring back its 2030 investment plans compared to prior targets.

• The Danish firm cited its troubled U.S. offshore wind efforts and other challenges.

Catch up quick: The news landed the same day Norwegian energy heavyweight Equinor scaled back renewables plans.

What's next: Ørsted, vowing a "stricter, more value-focused approach to capital allocation," plans to invest around $29 billion-$32 billion range through 2030.