On Saturday, November 16th, President-Elect Donald Trump announced that he had named oil tycoon Chris Wright, the founder and current CEO of Liberty Energy, as the country's next energy secretary. Liberty Energy is an energy industry service provider that is based out of Denver Colorado. According to Wright, they are involved in almost 10% of all energy production in the U.S. while being valued at nearly 2.8 billion dollars.
Who Is He?
Chris Wright attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he obtained a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and a master's in electrical engineering. Since university Wright has worked in many different oil and gas-related companies before starting his own, all the while being a staunch adversary towards the idea of human-accelerated climate change. In a video posted to his LinkedIn last year, he stated, “There is no such thing as clean or dirty energy.”
What Does The Energy Secretary Do?
The Energy Secretary is tasked with overseeing and advising all other departments on energy solutions, promoting and researching new energy technologies, as well as overseeing nuclear weapons. One major aspect that they do not directly influence is the regulation of fossil fuel production. Another conflicting duty of the Secretary of Energy is 15 USC 2503, which largely emphasizes the importance of ‘clean energy’ sources. These as well as many other changes that the current democratic administration has made may soon be subject to change.
How Does Chris Wright Effect The Everyday American?
The question on everyone's mind is “How will this affect gas prices.” As previously said the Secretary of Energy does not have direct influence over fossil fuel production but they can do things to make it easier for companies to operate. Via Truth Social Donald Trump said that Wright will be a “...key leader, driving innovation, cutting red tape…” Laws such as the Clean Air Act which regulates greenhouse gas emissions could be pushed out with the influence of the Secretary of Energy. Similarly, Wright does not seem like he will agree with the 15 US code 2503, another point of contention where ‘red tape’ could be cut to make things easier for oil and gas companies to operate. While gas prices may not change drastically, this new era of energy is sure to be one full of conflicting ideas and policy change.
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