Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Chris Wright unveiled his first secretarial order on Wednesday in a move to overturn many of former President Joe Biden’s green energy policies and restore “energy dominance” in America. [emphasis, links added]
Wright’s order aims to reduce energy costs in the U.S. and expand domestic energy production, according to a press release.
The order outlines several of the DOE’s plans to improve the U.S. energy sector by tackling issues caused by several Biden-era energy regulations.
The DOE’s order also outlines a plan to begin a comprehensive review of the agency’s Appliance Standards Program to make home appliances and products more affordable for Americans and promote consumer choice for appliances.
The Biden-Harris administration led a push toward regulating the use of certain gas appliances, including introducing several stringent efficiency rules for gas stoves and some water heaters.
The DOE also plans to “strengthen” the U.S. power grid’s “reliability and security,” according to the press release.
Notably, the Biden-Harris administration introduced stringent emissions standards for U.S. power plants in April 2024, leading to some power grid operators warning that the administration’s standards were pushing the grid toward conditions that could lead to blackouts.
Wright wrote further that the DOE plans to work to “unleash” America’s nuclear energy. Notably, the sole nuclear reactor to come online in the U.S. in the past several years is Georgia’s Vogtle plant, which connected its fourth unit to the power grid in March 2024 after facing significant delays and financial hurdles.
The agency plans to refill the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). The Biden-Harris administration released about 180 million barrels from the SPR ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, causing the reserve to near its lowest levels in roughly 40 years, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
The press release also references Biden’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) pause — which Trump ended on Jan. 21 — writing that the action was restoring the agency to “regular order,” after the Biden-Harris administration paused approvals for certain new LNG export facilities in January 2024 to assess whether additional exports were in the public interest.
“President Trump has outlined a bold and ambitious agenda to unleash American energy at home and abroad to restore energy dominance,” according to the press release.
“To compete globally, we must expand energy production and reduce energy costs for American families and businesses. America must lead the world in innovation and technology breakthroughs, which includes accelerating the work of the Department’s National Laboratories.
“We must also permit and build energy infrastructure and remove barriers to progress, including federal policies that make it too easy to stop projects and far too difficult to complete projects.”
Biden led a massive green energy push as part of his signature climate agenda. The Biden-Harris administration introduced a slew of green energy initiatives that were met with various hurdles, including its push for the adoption of electric vehicles(EVs) meeting lackluster consumer demand.
The Biden administration also pledged to build a network of half a million EV chargers by 2030, but the effort was met with copious slowdowns.
President Donald Trump’s administration has already begun rolling back some Biden-era energy policies, including making moves to reset Biden’s stringent fuel economy rules for vehicles.
Shortly after returning to the Oval Office on Jan. 20, Trump introduced an executive order to “unleash” American energy and protect the nation’s “economic and military security.”
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