Utility companies looking to add every possible electron to the electric grid will not have the full backing of the Trump administration, as Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the United States needs reliable energy, not wind and solar power.
Utility trade groups, large tech firms, and major manufacturers, as well as Republican and Democratic lawmakers, have called for the Trump administration to adopt an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy, which would include renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, to meet the growing demand brought on by artificial intelligence and address soaring electricity prices.
Wright pushed back on industry and Capitol Hill messaging on Friday during a press conference at the Energy Department’s headquarters, saying the focus should instead be on ensuring the electricity grid is designed for peak demand.
“When I hear politicians say, ‘We just added more electrons on the grid,’ no, we don’t,” Wright said.
Wright lambasted wind and solar power, which can be added to the grid relatively quickly, saying the renewable alternatives fail to add anything meaningful to the total capacity of the electricity grid.
“Giving me extra electricity when I don’t need it — it’s just an extra cost,” he said.
His remarks came just one day after Drew Maloney, CEO and president of the utility and investor-owned electric company trade group Edison Electric Institute, told the Washington Examiner that the industry needs all electrons, regardless of resources.
“You look at a state like Iowa … a large percentage of their power comes from wind. Texas has a good mix of wind and solar,” Maloney said. “But you need it all. And you see, like during a storm like this, you know, where we became very reliant on fossil fuel as sort of base load, you need that too. And we need more nuclear…we need as many electrons on the grid as possible right now.”
During Friday’s press conference, Wright touted the administration’s efforts to prevent blackouts and major disruptions as a result of the sweeping winter storm Fern, which hit dozens of states in late January.
Ahead of the storm, the Energy Department took actions to keep five coal plants scheduled for closure online to meet demand. Three of these plants were within the affected storm region.
The decision to keep the facilities online has been met with pushback, including from two utilities operating one of the plants.
The facility, the Craig Generating Station’s Unit 1 in Colorado, is jointly run by cooperative utilities Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and Platte River Power Authority.
Last week, the utilities filed a petition with the Energy Department to reconsider its emergency order demanding the unit remain operational through the end of March, citing high costs that could be borne by customers. Analysts have estimated that keeping the unit open for 90 additional days will cost the utilities at least $20 million, with costs ballooning to as much as $150 million if its life is extended one year.
When pressed on what plan the department has to prevent consumers from being hit with additional costs, Wright told the Washington Examiner that “far larger costs come from blackouts.”
UTILITY TRADE GROUP HEAD WARNS OF HIGHER COSTS FROM STALLING WIND FARMS
“The pushback is nonsense,” he said, referring to the utilities’ petition.
“Keeping coal plants on allows you to meet peak demand and allows you to keep price rises down. They’re not a cost setter, they’re a security generator and they’re a cost downward driver,” Wright said.