101 - The Secretary of Energy

On December 16, 2025, the United States Secretary of Energy declared an emergency in the Western Electricity Coordinating Council Northwest assessment area due to a shortage of electric energy. This order, numbered 202-25-11, mandated that Unit 2 of the coal-fired Centralia Generating Station in Washington State remain open to address the crisis. The Department of Energy document states that shortages of electric energy and generation facilities threaten public health, safety, and national defense in areas including parts of Washington, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and California.This declaration ties into broader energy challenges under the Trump Administration. It follows President Trumps Executive Order 14156 from January 20, 2025, which proclaimed a national energy emergency over insufficient production, transportation, refining, and generation. A July 2025 Department of Energy Resource Adequacy Report warned that without intervention, the power grid cannot meet rising demand from manufacturing, re-industrialization, and data centers for artificial intelligence.The emergency order has sparked controversy in a related proceeding. On December 22, 2025, Public Citizen filed a motion to intervene and protest Morgan Stanley Capital Group Incorporateds application to renew authority to export electricity to Canada. Public Citizen argues that the Secretarys emergency finding proves exports would impair domestic supply sufficiency, violating Section 202e of the Federal Power Act. The group highlights Morgan Stanleys control over 2800 megawatts of generation capacity in the affected region through long-term agreements, plus additional ownership and export rights.This is part of a pattern of recent emergency actions. On November 25, 2025, the Secretary issued order 202-25-10 to keep natural gas units at Constellation Energys Eddystone plant operating in the PJM region. On November 18, another order extended operations at Consumer Energys J H Campbell coal plant in Michigan under the Midcontinent Independent System Operator.These moves underscore urgent efforts to bolster reliability amid growing demand and retiring plants, as detailed in Department of Energy orders.Thank you for tuning in, listeners. Please subscribe for more updates. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.For more http://www.quietplease.aiGet the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOtaThis content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced on December 22 a 90-day pause on five offshore wind projects along the East Coast. The Department of Interior cited classified national security risks identified by Department of Defense officials, including radar interference from turbine blades and towers near population centers from Massachusetts to Virginia. According to the Department of Interior press release, the move addresses emerging threats from evolving adversary technologies and vulnerabilities posed by these large-scale developments.The affected projects include Dominion Energys 2.6-gigawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, which is over two-thirds complete and set for 2026 service; Avangrids Vineyard Wind 1 off Massachusetts, already generating power; Orsteds Revolution Wind off Rhode Island; and Sunrise Wind and Equinors Empire Wind, both off New York. S and P Global reports that Burgum called them expensive, unreliable, heavily subsidized offshore wind farms in a social media post.Industry groups and developers pushed back strongly. Dominion Energy stated the pause threatens grid reliability for Virginia military bases, data centers, and jobs, warning of energy inflation. Oceantic Network CEO Liz Burdock said it contradicts years of Defense Department reviews, potentially delaying nearly 6 gigawatts of power amid rising electricity demand. Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont called it an erratic move that will raise prices, while Virginia Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine decried risks to investments and veteran-heavy jobs.Former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Neil Chatterjee labeled it reckless, stressing the need for all energy sources to support data centers and reliability. ISO New England noted Vineyard Wind and Revolution Wind are key for winter power when other supplies are tight.The pause follows court rulings vacating prior halts, with critics like ClearView Energy Partners suggesting its timing as a counter to judicial setbacks. The Department of Interior said the pause allows time to mitigate risks with leaseholders and states.Thank you for tuning in, listeners. Please subscribe for more updates. This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out Quiet Please dot ai.For more http://www.quietplease.aiGet the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOtaThis content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI

Energy Secretary Chris Wright has been active in recent discussions on America's energy challenges. Politico reports that Wright spoke this week in support of the House-passed SPEED Act, a bill aimed at speeding up approvals for energy projects amid a growing power crunch. He told Politico the Trump administration wants bipartisan permitting reform done and emphasized finding balance on limiting executive interference in permits.Wright also addressed the surge in electricity demand from artificial intelligence data centers. Time magazine quotes him calling AI acceleration the number one scientific priority of the Trump administration. He highlighted Department of Energy national labs applying AI to fields like cancer research and pushed for un-retiring coal plants to meet needs, arguing many closures were political rather than economic. He noted natural gas as the biggest current source of generation and stressed speeding up conventional nuclear power, while questioning wind power reliability at night.On Thursday, AOL reports Wright warned a potential government shutdown could threaten nuclear weapons safety as funding nears lapse. Separately, the administration targeted climate research labs. The Energy Mix cites Associated Press saying the White House is dismantling the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, calling it a source of climate alarmism, with weather research to move elsewhere. Assistant Energy Secretary Audrey Robertson announced renaming the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to National Laboratory of the Rockies, ending focus on wind and solar.These moves reflect Wright's push for technology-neutral energy policies to boost output.Thank you for tuning in, listeners. Please subscribe for more updates. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.For more http://www.quietplease.aiGet the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOtaThis content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI

United States Energy Secretary Chris Wright has been in the spotlight over the past few days as the new administration moves aggressively to reshape national and international energy policy. In a recent interview highlighted by Fox Business, Wright said that Trump administration policies are aimed at reversing what he described as Biden era actions that drove up power costs. He told Fox News Sunday that Americans should soon see a halt in rising electricity prices, followed later in the term by actual declines, as the White House pushes what he calls energy addition through expanded production of coal, natural gas, oil, and hydropower.According to Fox Business and coverage carried by AOL, Wright argued that electricity markets are still dealing with inertia from years of plant closures, including coal and natural gas units, and potential removal of hydroelectric dams. He pointed to the administration’s recent decision to pull back from a Biden era memorandum that had advanced the idea of breaching four Lower Snake River dams in Washington state. The Energy Department now says keeping those dams, which can power roughly two and a half million homes, is critical to avoiding power shortages and sharp rate increases.Industry outlet Coal Zoom reports that on December fifteenth, Wright again emphasized that current high prices, including a more than five percent year over year rise in electricity costs reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, are being addressed with a long term build out of generation capacity. He framed the strategy as essential not only for household bills but also to support the surge in electricity demand from artificial intelligence data centers.Internationally, Reuters reporting published by the Journal Record describes how Wright and the United States government are pressing the European Union to ease or delay its new methane emissions rules on imported oil and gas. In a document circulated to European governments ahead of an energy ministers meeting in Brussels, Washington asked the bloc to postpone requirements for detailed methane emissions data from United States exports until twenty thirty five. The document calls the European Union methane regulation a critical non tariff trade barrier, and reflects Wright’s public warnings that the law could disrupt United States liquefied natural gas shipments that Europe has increasingly relied on since cutting back purchases from Russia.European Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen responded that Brussels will not weaken the core of the methane law, though it may streamline compliance pathways for companies. At the same time, industry groups in both the United States and Europe are lobbying for delays to tougher obligations set to begin in twenty twenty seven, even as the Trump administration rolls back some domestic methane reporting rules.Thank you for tuning in, and please remember to subscribe. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.For more http://www.quietplease.aiGet the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOtaThis content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI

Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated on Fox News Sunday that the Trump administration's policies will stop the rise in electricity prices and lead to declines later in the term. He explained that former President Joe Biden's actions, like shutting down coal and natural gas plants, drove up costs, but the current approach focuses on adding energy supply. Wright noted that electricity prices increased 5.1 percent in September compared to the previous year, partly due to rising demand from data centers powering artificial intelligence tools, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index report.Fox Business reports Wright saying the administration has halted further plant closures and reversed Biden-era moves, including withdrawing from a policy that could have breached four hydroelectric dams on the Snake River in Washington state. Those dams generate over three thousand megawatts, enough power for two point five million homes, and their removal might have doubled power shortage risks and raised rates by up to fifty percent.Wright highlighted quick wins in gasoline and diesel prices from pro-energy policies, contrasting them with the slower electricity sector. Coal Zoom coverage from December fifteen, twenty twenty-five, echoes his prediction that prices will stabilize soon and then fall with continued energy expansion.This push addresses affordability for Americans amid growing energy needs.Thank you for tuning in, listeners, and remember to subscribe. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.For more http://www.quietplease.aiGet the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOtaThis content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI