Photo illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios. Photo: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images and Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
New Energy Secretary Chris Wright played up his ties to geothermal and nuclear energy in his first comments to agency staff.
Why it matters: Wright is at the center of efforts to address Trump's freezing of tens of billions in DOE funding and control the government's energy research and demonstration projects.
What he's saying: Wright, whom the Senate handily confirmed Monday, outlined a nine-point secretarial order he planned to release Wednesday.
- The order will include goals such as boosting LNG exports, growing energy production, expanding nuclear power, reviewing energy efficiency standards for consumer appliances, and refilling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
- The order is intended to "put out some markers, some goals, some targets for what we want to see," he said.
Between the lines: Wright didn't address the pause on infrastructure and IRA funding or when that may be lifted.
- He told employees in an email obtained by Axios that DOE is "critical to accomplishing these goals by cutting red tape, prioritizing common-sense solutions, and fostering American ingenuity."
- In his remarks, Wright talked up his interests in transferring shale drilling technology to expand geothermal power and called small modular reactors "a promising solution to support an AI-driven economy."
