Secretary Wright: US must ‘pivot on a dime’ for AI and energy
In an exclusive interview with Energy Connects, Secretary Chris Wright, US Secretary of Energy, discussed the limitless scope of AI in energy, the United States’ progress in natural gas and what the future could hold for energy globally.
You’ve described AI in the past as the Manhattan Project II. The opportunities are clear - but highlight some of the challenges you see in terms of international collaboration and partnerships.
We want to make sure the United States and our allies in Europe and in Asia together maintain a large lead in AI. The capital, private businesses and scientists are there, but we need to be able to develop new electricity in the United States fast. We haven’t had much growth in 20 years, so we need to pivot on a dime, permit and allow people to build large things in the US – and that’s what the Trump administration is all about – moving fast.
With rapidly increasing energy demand for AI, talk to us about how you’re planning to meet the demand through natural gas, LNG, and nuclear.
In the next few years, that’s dominantly going to come from expansions in natural gas. But I’m very passionate about nuclear power. It came out in the mid-50s, grew strongly for two or three decades, then just got hamstrung due to safety concerns, and a government regulatory smothering. So, a key thing for the Trump administration is we want to unsmother nuclear and allow that technology to get moving again.
The US is ploughing hundreds of billions of dollars into natural gas, and also plans to double its LNG exports in the next four to five years. Talk to us about your demand forecast and how the US plans to lead on this.
The US is a huge believer in the future of natural gas. Less than 20 years ago, we were the largest importer in the world, and now we’re the largest exporter in the world. We have the permitting ability to double those exports. In the last 15 years, the fastest growing energy source on the planet is natural gas, and it probably will be for a few decades more.
Permitting reform has been a key pledge of the current US administration. Talk to us about how you balance the need for speed and investment certainty, but also safeguard the interests of communities and the environment.
Safety of operations, minimising environmental impact and getting the community involved are critical, but they can be done in a timely fashion. Initially, permitting would take a week, and then maybe 30 years ago, it took a month or two. Now, it drags out for years. So, we’re going to do a thoughtful environmental and safety review.
Recently, the US and Italy signed a deal to deepen energy cooperation. Could you share the benefits for American producers as well as European buyers?
It’s to level the trade playing field between our countries. I want to see tons of European exports go into the United States, and tons of American exports come into the European Union. That’s certainly our goal. And look, Europe has developed a dangerous dependence on Russia, meaning a large amount of their natural gas, oil and coal all have come from Russia. The US LNG industry is ramping up to fill that gap. We absolutely want to grow our cooperation and energy exports from the US into Europe.
What are your thoughts on global oil prices, given recent market volatility, the production increase by OPEC, and also talks of a glut, in the coming months?
We do want a world well supplied with oil, natural gas and coal, so we don’t have spikes in energy prices. Those impinge on people’s lives, affordability and their opportunities in life. We’re seeing a lot of spare OPEC capacity come onto the market, but in the long run that’s healthy for the oil market.
