During a House Energy Committee hearing on Tuesday, Rep. Rob Menendez (D-NJ) asked Energy Secretary Chris Wright about an "all-the-above" energy approach.
00:00I recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey's 8th district for five minutes for questions.
00:04Thank you, Chairman.
00:06Secretary Wright, this administration has made clear it wants to make America energy dominant.
00:11Is that correct?
00:13Yes.
00:14And wouldn't you agree that the best way to achieve energy dominance is by an all-of-the-above approach to energy production?
00:22Just yes or no?
00:24I've never supported all of the above, because if something's going to make energy more expensive and less reliable,
00:29I'm not for that.
00:32Okay, actually, let's walk through that.
00:34So more expensive, less reliable.
00:36Is that correct?
00:37That's why you're not a proponent of all of the above strategy, which would include renewable energy.
00:45All energy sources that will provide secure, affordable, reliable energy over the long term, I'm in favor of.
00:51I've worked in solar, in geothermal, in nuclear, across the energy spectrum.
00:56I haven't worked in wind or coal, but almost every other energy source I've worked in.
00:59All right, we'll keep moving.
01:00Would you agree that energy affordability is an issue important to so many Americans, including when it comes to their energy bills?
01:07Just yes or no?
01:08Oh, yes.
01:08Yeah, I agree.
01:09And would you agree that increased production of all types of energy, including renewables, helps bring down costs for consumers?
01:17Absolutely not.
01:18That is not at all how the marketplace has worked.
01:20Okay.
01:21Let's keep going.
01:22Absolutely not.
01:22I'm going to make a note of that.
01:24So do you know which states have been most successful in driving down energy prices for consumers?
01:30It depends on the baseline where you begin.
01:33I will tell you, Florida, over 15 years, has had very little rise in their electricity price, and California has more than doubled them.
01:40And you can see the dramatically different policy in those two states.
01:44So let's go with Texas.
01:46Earlier this year, the Energy Information Administration predicted that Texas was one of the few places in the country where energy prices were expected to decrease.
01:55Were you aware of that?
01:57I am aware of electricity price trends in Texas, yes.
02:01And do you know where Texas ranks in terms of deployment of renewable energy sources?
02:07It would be the largest because you can build things in Texas.
02:10It's a dominantly natural gas-powered grid, but they have a huge amount of wind power and solar power as well.
02:15That's exactly right.
02:16Texas leads the nation in wind production and is the second largest producer of solar power after California.
02:23In 2023, renewable sources provide almost 30% of Texas' total electricity generation.
02:29Over the past 10 years, Texas has seen electricity prices decline as solar and wind have grown rapidly.
02:35Would you say that this decline in energy prices is good for Texans?
02:41Yes or no?
02:43Declining electricity prices is a good thing.
02:46The 200-plus people who died in the blackout in 2021 was a very bad thing.
02:51Agree with that.
02:53Would you agree that consumers in Texas are benefiting from lower energy prices that result from increased renewable energy production?
03:00I don't think that's a meaningful driver of reduced energy prices in Texas.
03:05Why is that?
03:07Because they...
03:09More energy production leads to lower prices.
03:12Isn't that generally the idea, supply and demand?
03:14Only if you can store something.
03:16You have to match supply and demand at every instant on an electricity grid.
03:20You can't just put extra energy in a pot.
03:23It seems like Texas has been successful at that because production has gone up with renewable energy.
03:28It accounts for about 30% of their energy production, and consumers are seeing lower prices.
03:32Natural gas is the biggest source of electricity in Texas.
03:37Natural gas prices have gone down.
03:38It's also the...
03:39Going back to all of the above, Texas has both legacy energy production and also clean renewable energy, and what you're seeing is lower prices.
03:48Is that not accurate?
03:49It just seems like that's just a truth that you don't seem to want to admit to.
03:54It's lower prices are good.
03:56Yes.
03:56Lower prices are good.
03:57And renewables at any penetration level are not necessarily ruinous.
04:02I'm just saying the drive down in Texas electricity prices has not been primarily driven by wind and solar.
04:09Primarily, but would you say it's a contributing factor?
04:12You're going to say zero.
04:13It's not a contributing factor at all.
04:15That's your testimony today.
04:16It has zero impact on the price for consumers.
04:18That's not my testimony.
04:19My testimony, it's more complicated than you're putting it out there as.
04:24And I think it's simpler than you're making it seem.
04:27So let me ask you this.
04:27Despite Texas's success in embracing renewables and the real results of bringing energy prices down for consumers,
04:33are you still opposed to an all-the-above energy approach that includes renewables?
04:38Just a simple yes or no.
04:40I'm not opposed to renewable energy at all.
04:42I don't use the term renewable because they're not renewable, but I'm not opposed to alternative energy sources.
04:47I've worked in them.
04:47I've invested in them.
04:49So I'm not opposed to them.
04:50But we need to do them to lower prices and keep grids stable, not as ways for wealthy people to gather dollars from the government.
04:58Well, that's a lot to unpack in the five seconds that I have, so I will leave it there.
05:02But I think your administration is doing a disservice to the people that want to see a growth in renewable, clean, alternative energy.
05:08And we should continue to invest in it because we've seen success in places like Texas.
