U.S. Energy Secretary Heralds Reliable Fossil Fuels

---

Written by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Prioritizing climate change under the Biden administration was detrimental to U.S. progress and energy security, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in an op-ed piece published this week.

President Donald Trump in one of his first acts of office unraveled many of the climate initiatives steered by his predecessor, Joe Biden. The former president, for example, set a goal of establishing 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy by 2030 and another 15 GW in floating offshore capacity by 2035, though Trump in a January order revoked leases to develop new offshore wind facilities and prohibited the renewal of existing wind energy leases.

"We need energy that is affordable, reliable and secure," Wright wrote in an op-ed piece published Monday by The Economist. Wright, the former head of Liberty Energy (Denver, Colorado) helped establish the company as the second-largest hydraulic fracturing company in North America.

Concerns surfaced during last year's hurricane season over the intermittent nature of renewable energy. But a study last year from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) found that, while there were outages, the Texas power system largely held up during last year's excessive heat. On August 20, 2024, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which meets the power demands for 90% of the consumers in the state, saw near-record peak demand of more than 85 GW.

Solar power provided about 21% of the total, or around 18 GW of energy, which NREL said reduced the risk of an outage. Wright, however, said Biden had created roadblocks to more reliable forms of energy by leaning on cleaner alternatives.

"In the name of a single risk--climate change--the Biden administration launched a regulatory assault aimed at eliminating hydrocarbons in favor of so-called renewables," he wrote.

However, Wright said hydrocarbons, he said, made up 82% of U.S. energy consumption last year, about the same as 2019, the last year of Trump's first term.

"Hydrocarbons are proving extremely difficult to replace," he wrote.

Elsewhere, Trump's so-called One Big, Beautiful Bill Act erased many incentives for renewables, but the federal government estimates that renewable energy will account for 26% of the power on the U.S. grid next year, compared to 23% in 2024. Coal rises to 17% this year and then contracts to 15% in 2026.

The U.S., meanwhile, remains the world leader in oil and natural gas production, with its vast shale gas deposits also making it the top exporter of liquefied natural gas. Oil production, however, looks to be approaching a short-term plateau. Total U.S. production this year is expected to average 13.4 million barrels per day, a level that's forecast to remain the same for 2026.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).