In Colorado, U.S. Energy Sec. Wright says climate change alarmism hurt energy development

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The new Secretary of Energy Chris Wright returned to his home state Thursday to tour the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, as the Trump administration continues to mull budget, staff and policy changes at the agency.

The department oversees a vast portfolio of national laboratories, maintains the country’s nuclear weapons stockpile and funds an innovation office to support new technology. The renewables laboratory in Golden has thousands of employees and has made key innovations in solar, wind and other clean-energy technologies meant to reduce planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.

Wright praised the lab’s work during remarks to staff. But during remarks with reporters, Wright, the former head of the Denver-based fracking company now called Liberty Energy, said that calling climate change a crisis was a form of political theater that led to destructive policy choices.

“The biggest barrier in energy development the last few decades is people, for political reasons, calling climate change a crisis,” Wright said. He said climate alarmism led to policies that curtailed American infrastructure and may not actually reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“So factories that would've been here in Colorado are instead in Texas or in Asia. You can say this is all for climate change,” Wright said. “But most of that is just nonsense. Honestly, it's just nonsense.”

During questions, Wright rejected a link between climate change and the Marshall Fire, Colorado’s costliest wildfire that burned over 1,000 homes. He instead said poor forest management practices have in part led to destructive wildfires.

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He also outlined challenges to the U.S. electricity grid, particularly from skyrocketing demand from artificial intelligence. On Thursday, the Department announced an initiative to build private data centers on department land by 2027, with the ability to generate their own electricity on-site.

Wright has been a strong proponent of “unleashing” American energy to keep costs down by ramping up the production of fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas. In the past, he’s cast doubt on the ability of renewables to meet American energy needs, and been critical of Biden-era climate policies.

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Wright’s focus on fossil fuel development is a U-turn from Biden-era policies at the agency, which sought to curb planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions and pursued a transition to clean energy.

In February, Wright ordered the department to take steps to increase energy production, refill the strategic petroleum reserve and prioritize research and development on certain renewables, like advanced nuclear, geothermal and hydropower. Wright also approved the first of several export authorizations for new liquid natural gas terminals on the Louisiana coast.

The Biden administration froze authorizations for some of those exports, citing their potential to increase planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.

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