Energy Secretary Chris Wright on “Fox News Sunday” 3/8/26
By Gary Abernathy
This article was originally published at The Empowerment Alliance and is re-published here with permission via Real Clear Wire.
From the time President Trump took office in January 2025, he and various agencies from the EPA to the Department of Energy have been working to reverse the damage done by the previous administration in regard to billions of taxpayer dollars directed to propping up so-called “alternatives” like wind and solar.
But just how short-lived that effort could be was made clear at recent congressional hearings when Democrats pressed Energy Secretary Chris Wright over the administration’s efforts to undo the damage done by the Biden administration to our most affordable and reliable energy sources. Particularly upsetting to the left is that the Energy Department has, since last May, “issued a series of emergency orders requiring multiple coal-fired power plants in the continental U.S. and Puerto Rico to remain operational despite plans for retirement,” as Inside Climate News put it.
“Those federal actions are having ripple effects throughout the country’s utilities,” according to the story. “Southern Company said it would continue operating coal-fired plants in Mississippi and Georgia, and North Carolina’s legislature passed the ‘The Power Bill Reduction Act,’ allowing Duke Energy to backslide on its legally mandated carbon emissions reductions.”
One person’s “backsliding” is another person’s “restoring sanity,” which is how supporters of reliable and affordable energy see it. But comments from leading Democrats make clear just how quickly the work to protect cost-effective energy can be undone by a simple change of congressional leadership or presidential administrations.
Politico, covering Wright’s appearance at a House subcommittee hearing, reported that proposed budget cuts “include eliminating funding for wind, solar and weatherization programs — areas Democrats also seized on in their criticism of Wright. He defended the proposal as a refocus on reliability and core energy priorities.”
According to Politico, Wright said, “We put the department back on mission: delivering affordable, reliable and secure energy to the American people.”
But with midterm elections just around the corner – and the 2028 presidential election kicking off right after that – the future of affordable, reliable energy will clearly be in jeopardy. No matter how aggressively the Trump administration has rolled back Biden-era efforts to expand energy “alternatives,” billions of taxpayer dollars for that cause could be restored in the blink of an eye if Democrats retake power in Washington.
The Democrats are making no secret of their desire to return to their previous policy of propping up wind and solar. The New York Times reported last month that the Senate Democrats’ leader is making such a move a priority.
“If Democrats win control of Congress in this fall’s elections, they will try to restore and expand tax credits for wind, solar and other renewable energy that President Trump and Republicans largely eliminated last year, Senator Chuck Schumer, the minority leader, said on Wednesday,” the Times reported. “We have to just build more clean energy,” Schumer said, according to the Times. Democrats believe that higher gas prices related to the Iran war are opening the door to making their push for “alternatives” more palatable to voters. “We can bring new voters and allies into the fight for a cleaner environment by showing how clean energy is affordable energy,” Schumer said in a recent speech, according to the Times.
Such intentions make it imperative for Republicans in Congress to codify affordable, traditional energy into law. The bill introduced last year in the House by Rep. Troy Balderson (R-OH) – the Affordable, Reliable, Clean Energy Security Act (ARC-ES) – is designed to guarantee that our most affordable and reliable energy resources, including natural gas and nuclear energy, can withstand politicized efforts to replace them with more unreliable energy sources.
As described by a press release announcing the bill’s introduction, the legislation “would require relevant federal agencies—such as the Department of Energy, Department of the Interior, and the Environmental Protection Agency—to review any actions relating to affordable, reliable, or clean energy within 90 days and submit a report to Congress. The bill guarantees that our most affordable and reliable energy sources, including nuclear and natural gas, remain part of the energy mix – a crucial requirement to guarantee affordable and reliable energy for American households and businesses.”
Ensuring the continued use of natural gas and other traditional and reliable energy sources is not related only to cost-effectiveness, but also national security. So-called “clean energy” initiatives increase our reliance on foreign countries, particularly China. From solar panels to wind turbines to batteries, the world depends on China for crucial “alternative” technologies.
“Right now, over 90% of the world’s solar manufacturing capacity is in China,” according to a recent story by Canary Media. “So is 83% of the planet’s battery production capacity, and nearly three- quarters of wind technology manufacturing capacity. China’s grip on the EV sector almost looks measly in comparison, at just two-thirds.”
From a national security perspective, the last thing the U.S. can afford is reliance on a foreign adversary like China for its energy needs. Democrats are poised to move us away from energy independence and back into a risky reliance on other countries. The greatest gift our citizens could receive on our nation’s 250 th birthday this July would be the promise of energy independence by codifying ARC-ES into law.
Gary Abernathy is a longtime newspaper editor, reporter and columnist. He was a contributing columnist for the Washington Post from 2017-2023 and a frequent guest analyst across numerous media platforms. He is a contributing opinion columnist for The Empowerment Alliance, which advocates for realistic approaches to energy consumption and environmental conservation.
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