Oklo connection: Wright is the founder, chief executive officer, and chair of the board of Liberty Energy, a Denver-based energy development company specializing in hydraulic fracturing—commonly known as fracking. The company conducted its first fracking job in January 2012. Although Wright’s career has focused on fossil fuels, he also serves on the board of directors of Oklo, a Silicon Valley developer of small modular reactors.
Bio facts: Wright, who has degrees in mechanical engineering and electrical engineering, started Pinnacle Technologies in 1992. According to his Liberty Energy biography, Pinnacle Technologies’ “innovations helped launch commercial shale gas production and created an industry in hydraulic fracture mapping.” Wright left his CEO position at Pinnacle in 2006 to become the chair of Stroud Energy, a shale gas producer. In 2010, he founded Liberty Resources, an exploration and production company focused on the Bakken oil fields of North Dakota and Montana. He also founded Liberty Midstream Solutions, a provider of midstream services for emerging oil and gas resources.
In addition to serving on the board of Oklo, Wright sits on the board of EMX Royalty Corp., a global mining royalties company.
Climate change: Various media reports have alleged that Wright will use his DOE position to promote fossil fuels and reverse many of the decarbonization initiatives set in place during the Biden administration. Such reports make note of Wright’s previous statements expressing doubts about the seriousness of climate change. Last year, for example, Wright posted a video on his LinkedIn page in which he said, “There is no climate crisis, and we’re not in the midst of an energy transition either. . . . The only thing resembling a crisis with respect to climate change is the regressive, opportunity-squelching policies justified in the name of climate change.”
According to Reuters, Wright is “likely to share Trump's opposition to global cooperation on fighting climate change” and that he will “likely be involved in permitting of electricity transmission and the expansion of nuclear power, an energy source that is popular with both Republicans and Democrats but which is expensive and complicated to permit.”
“I like the way he talks”: Former Trump energy advisor George David Banks praised Wright, telling Politico, “I like the way he talks about energy and climate policy. Wright understands the importance of U.S. LNG [liquefied natural gas] in reducing global emissions and improving the daily lives of the poor in the developing world. He also points out that offshoring production leads to higher pollution because of the superior environmental performance of U.S. producers and manufacturers.”
Tom Pyle, president of American Energy Alliance, a nonprofit organization with pro–fossil fuel views, called Wright “a solid choice for energy secretary,” Politico reported.
Inflation Reduction Act: According to Politico, “One oil industry lawyer familiar with the [Trump] transition team talks” opined that Wright’s appointment is “likely to mean the Trump administration next year will go after the Inflation Reduction Act [IRA] with ‘a machete rather than a scalpel.’” The IRA has been beneficial to the nuclear energy industry in many ways, including through tax credits and incentives, but it has been blamed by Republicans for leading to increased costs for energy, drugs, and other commodities that are then passed on to consumers.
Trump’s “golden age”: The selections of Wright and Burgum and the creation of the Council of National Energy are all parts of Trump’s vision of, in his words, “driving innovation, cutting red tape, and ushering in a new ‘golden age of American prosperity and global peace.’” Trump has stated that the Council of National Energy “will oversee the path to U.S. energy dominance by cutting red tape, enhancing private sector investments across all sectors of the economy, and by focusing on innovation over long-standing, but totally unnecessary, regulation.”
Despite the climate change– and fossil fuel–related concerns about Wright’s appointment, the energy executive’s ties to Oklo also suggest an interest in advanced nuclear energy. That interest offers some encouragement for the nuclear energy sector that it will be a welcome part of Trump’s promised “golden age.”
As reported by E&E News, Trump—during his recent interview on the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast—expressed concerns about the safety and costs of large, traditional nuclear reactors, but he praised SMRs “as a potential answer to long-running cost concerns surrounding the energy source” and as a way to “avoid the complexities associated with large reactors.”
