Photo illustration: Brendan Lynch / Axios. Photo: Al Drago / Bloomberg via Getty Images and Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images
Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Wednesday panned subsidies for wind, solar, batteries, and hydrogen to skeptical Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Democrats.
Why it matters: The Democrats took a sharper tone in Wright's first appearance at the committee since he was handily confirmed in a bipartisan vote.
What he's saying: Wright argued that the intermittent production of wind and solar has made the grid less reliable and more expensive. Subsidies for them are "the most offensive," he said.
- Solar, in particular, "has been subsidized for a quarter of a century and it should compete on its own," Wright said.
- But Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto noted that "oil and gas have had subsidies for decades, and they will continue to have subsidies for decades."
- He also threw cold water on hydrogen as Senate Republicans proposed ending the 45V production tax credit at the end of 2025 and as DOE targets awards to regional hydrogen hubs.
- "It's tough with the math to see how, in the long term, it becomes a meaningful commercial energy source," Wright told Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington state, home to a Pacific Northwest hydrogen hub.
The other side: Democrats pressed Wright on project cancellations they say undermine President Trump's "energy dominance" goal.
- Sen. Martin Heinrich, the panel's ranking Democrat, said the agency's recent cancellation of awards "crosses into impoundment territory and is certainly a breach of contract."
- "Actions like these will severely damage our country's ability to lead in developing and commercializing next-generation technologies, while ceding ground to our competitors," Heinrich said.
- Cortez Masto also questioned the legal authority to "roll back congressionally approved funds for this enacted program."
Wright responded that the DOE used the contract's cancellation clauses because "an evaluation showed that the projects, at the end, were not viable. There's no point in building a bridge to nowhere."
- The agency, he said, is reviewing about 500 Biden-era projects and discussing whether they can be changed to become viable.
Driving the news: Wright said the DOE will announce a solicitation Wednesday for three new small modular reactors to produce power by July 4, 2026 — an ambitious goal.
- Wright blamed permitting delays and "obstructionist" Nuclear Regulatory Commission rules for why the industry stopped building reactors for several decades.
- "The system within the NRC isn't necessarily calibrated to maximize" reactor deployment, said ENR Chair Mike Lee.
- The DOE is working with the Defense Department to implement nuclear energy executive orders, which in part envision a "total and complete reform of NRC culture."
Reality check: Nuclear power observers say soaring costs are far more to blame for reactor delays than NRC policies.
What's next: Wright implored the Senate to confirm more DOE nominees.
- "I've got 10 people that have gone through your committee that are sitting there," he said, adding that he "desperately" needs more staff.
