May 2, 2025 • 8 mins
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright says energy for the AI arms race in the US will come from natural gas, nuclear and coal. He discusses this and reflects on President Donald Trump's first 100 days in office with hosts Ed Ludlow and Caroline Hyde
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Bloomberg Audio studios, podcasts, radio news. The Department of Energy
is also celebrating one hundred days of American energy what
it's calling victories, including in manufacturing and innovation. Joining us
now is US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Secretary right. Thank
you for your time in joining us here on Bloomberg Technology.
(00:24):
There is one question that that Americans that watch this
show have for you, which is, how have you changed
policy in that period of time for energy in a
way that supports US manufacturers.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Well, here I am at a plant in Griffin, Georgia,
about forty miles southeast of Atlanta, that makes low cost, tankless,
non condensing hot water heaters. A little too technical there,
These are low cost heaters. Over a million Americans today
take showers and wash their hands from water heated from
(00:58):
a device in this plant, just in the last three years,
and of course millions more interested in this technology because
it's very low cost. And this was going to be illegal.
On December twenty sixth, the Biden administration passed a rule
through the Department of Energy, my predecessor, that would have
made the manufacture of these devices illegal. Hundreds of people
(01:20):
here in Georgia would have lost their jobs, and millions
of Americans wouldn't have had a low cost choice to
put into their house, their apartment, their you know, wherever
it is. They want hot water, their restaurant, their business.
And so we're thrilled to see this factory humming along
and excited workers that they have the future and their
products have a future.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Secretary, right fifty miles away from where you're standing, Rivian
is building an electric vehicle plant in Georgia. Rivian had
secured a six point six billion dollar loan from the
Department of Energy agreed under the prior administration. What is
your assessment of that loan? Will it pro seed? And
(02:00):
all you were viewing the issuance of those funds.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
So we will review the issuance of all the funds,
loans and grants from the Department of the Energy. To
give you one reason for the serious concern, we have
about eighty percent of the loan money and the grant
money put out by the Biden percent Biden administration, eighty
percent went out after President Trump was elected and before
(02:27):
his inauguration day. If they had great, rock solid, make
American lives better opportunities, wouldn't they have done that? In
the previous two and a half years, but instead so
much of the money was rushed out the door after
election day and before inauguration. So we've got a lot
of reasons to be worried and suspicious about that. We're
stewards of the American taxpayer's money, and the goal the
(02:49):
Department of Energy is to improve our energy system, to
make energy more affordable, reliable, and secure. Everything that serves
that agenda we will carry through. So we want to
if you want to carry out the president's agenda, follow
the rule of law. And so some of these loans
will go forward, some of them it's too late to
(03:09):
change courses. A lot of them won't go forward. But
that's a very careful review processes that we've just put
in place and just got the team to execute on.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
Secretary Right, it's not just the company's manufacturing. If you
think about the infrastructure, particularly from the utilities point of view,
there is a lot of concern about storage capability. Tesla
is the leader in energy storage right, but the frank
reality is that for the energy storage products, it relies
on prismatic LFP cells that are one hundred percent manufactured
(03:41):
in China by c ATL if there is a need
to build out storage product at the commercial scale. Are
you evaluating any exemptions in the context of tariffs or
any work with Tesla so that they can get moving
on building out energy storage infrastructure in this country.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Well, look, I won't talk on specific things right here,
but we are looking very careful at everything we can
do to reshure the manufacturing of critical systems like the
ones you've talked about here in the United States. We've
just become way too dependent on China for things that
are in our defense systems, that are in our electric grids,
that are in our automobiles, that are in our space systems.
(04:22):
We need to bring that kind of manufacturing, those technologies,
and those materials back into the United States. It is
a high priority of the Trump administration.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
Secretary, right, you spend a lot of time talking to executives,
as does the President. I just want you to rehaar
what the Nvidia CEO said on the Hell just this week.
Take a listen.
Speaker 4 (04:43):
In order for this industry to thrive, we need to
build these systems, of course, but we also need a
progressive growth and industry oriented energy policy, which this president
has really put his way behind. I really appreciate that
without energy, we can't possibly have new growth industries.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
An industry focused energy policy for AI. Secretary, Right, what
does that industry policy look like?
Speaker 2 (05:14):
That means getting the barriers out of the way of
energy production. Divide. The administration spent four years in sort
of an all of government approach to impede the production
of hydrocarbons in the United States up for all energy sources.
But hydrocarbons are over eighty percent of US energy when
I was born and they are today. So if you
(05:34):
stand in the way of our main energy system, guess
what you get? Higher prices. We grew our electricity production
only two percent, twenty percent price rise. So to achieve
in Vidia's and America's dream to win the AI race,
we've got to produce a lot more electricity, a lot
more of energy of all sorts in the United States.
And all the government needs to do is get out
(05:55):
of the way a little bit of common sense. There's
American businesses, a Maria capital, American technologies ready to roar,
and President Trump's goal is to unleash that American energy,
that American capital and let American energy production grow sexually.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Right, though, is there potential that you're accidentally getting in
the way because of geopolitics and trade issues. Because the
energy lack of in many ways is an infrastructure and
supply chain issue. You don't have the turbines to be
able to bring the energy at the infrastructure rate that
the CEOs want to see. There's not enough equipment. Is
(06:31):
there enough time to pivot to make that in the US.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Oh, I've spoken to the turbine manufacturers and they are
in huge demand right now. But ge Vernova made twenty
seven of them last year. They'll make eighty of them
next year. So that Americans are ingenious and with a
little bit of regulatory common sense, they can ramp up
their capacity rapidly. So no, I'm quite excited about how
(06:57):
much new energy production capacity we'll see in the United
States under construction today, and a lot more will be
under construction by the end of this year. I think
we will ramp it up in time. But you're right,
it's going to be a race. It's going to be
a race, but we must lead in AI and that
means we must rapidly grow our energy production. But we're
up for the.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Job, Secretary, right, How reliant will the AI boom in
this country be on fossil fuels. And while we have you,
what is the plan for the SPR?
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Pleads Well, the natural gas is by far the biggest
source of electricity in the United States, followed by nuclear
and coal, so that's what's going to power the race.
It's slow to build coal plants and nuclear plants are
very slow. We want to change that. But in the
short term, the main source of additional electricity that will
(07:48):
power AI arms race is going to be expanded natural
gas electricity production. That'll be the workhorse of winning the
AI race. But a lot of solars getting built, transmission,
energy store bridge, all of the above that works, that'll
add to it. Your last question, sorry, repeat it again.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
The status of the SPR. Please.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Hey, the SPR was half drained for the twenty twenty
two mid term elections, so we are filling it slowly
right now, but we're going to try to get money
through Congress to fill it more rapidly. But unfortunately you
can only fill it at a much slower pace than
you can drain it, so it will take us years
to fill it back. But we will entirely fill it
because it's a strategic reserve. You got to have that
(08:32):
because you never know what's coming.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
We appreciate your time outside, of course Rehinai America Corporation.
US Energy Secretary Chris Right
Bloomberg Audio studios, podcasts, radio news. The Department of Energy
is also celebrating one hundred days of American energy what
it's calling victories, including in manufacturing and innovation. Joining us
now is US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Secretary right. Thank
you for your time in joining us here on Bloomberg Technology.
(00:24):
There is one question that that Americans that watch this
show have for you, which is, how have you changed
policy in that period of time for energy in a
way that supports US manufacturers.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Well, here I am at a plant in Griffin, Georgia,
about forty miles southeast of Atlanta, that makes low cost, tankless,
non condensing hot water heaters. A little too technical there,
These are low cost heaters. Over a million Americans today
take showers and wash their hands from water heated from
(00:58):
a device in this plant, just in the last three years,
and of course millions more interested in this technology because
it's very low cost. And this was going to be illegal.
On December twenty sixth, the Biden administration passed a rule
through the Department of Energy, my predecessor, that would have
made the manufacture of these devices illegal. Hundreds of people
(01:20):
here in Georgia would have lost their jobs, and millions
of Americans wouldn't have had a low cost choice to
put into their house, their apartment, their you know, wherever
it is. They want hot water, their restaurant, their business.
And so we're thrilled to see this factory humming along
and excited workers that they have the future and their
products have a future.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Secretary, right fifty miles away from where you're standing, Rivian
is building an electric vehicle plant in Georgia. Rivian had
secured a six point six billion dollar loan from the
Department of Energy agreed under the prior administration. What is
your assessment of that loan? Will it pro seed? And
(02:00):
all you were viewing the issuance of those funds.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
So we will review the issuance of all the funds,
loans and grants from the Department of the Energy. To
give you one reason for the serious concern, we have
about eighty percent of the loan money and the grant
money put out by the Biden percent Biden administration, eighty
percent went out after President Trump was elected and before
(02:27):
his inauguration day. If they had great, rock solid, make
American lives better opportunities, wouldn't they have done that? In
the previous two and a half years, but instead so
much of the money was rushed out the door after
election day and before inauguration. So we've got a lot
of reasons to be worried and suspicious about that. We're
stewards of the American taxpayer's money, and the goal the
(02:49):
Department of Energy is to improve our energy system, to
make energy more affordable, reliable, and secure. Everything that serves
that agenda we will carry through. So we want to
if you want to carry out the president's agenda, follow
the rule of law. And so some of these loans
will go forward, some of them it's too late to
(03:09):
change courses. A lot of them won't go forward. But
that's a very careful review processes that we've just put
in place and just got the team to execute on.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
Secretary Right, it's not just the company's manufacturing. If you
think about the infrastructure, particularly from the utilities point of view,
there is a lot of concern about storage capability. Tesla
is the leader in energy storage right, but the frank
reality is that for the energy storage products, it relies
on prismatic LFP cells that are one hundred percent manufactured
(03:41):
in China by c ATL if there is a need
to build out storage product at the commercial scale. Are
you evaluating any exemptions in the context of tariffs or
any work with Tesla so that they can get moving
on building out energy storage infrastructure in this country.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Well, look, I won't talk on specific things right here,
but we are looking very careful at everything we can
do to reshure the manufacturing of critical systems like the
ones you've talked about here in the United States. We've
just become way too dependent on China for things that
are in our defense systems, that are in our electric grids,
that are in our automobiles, that are in our space systems.
(04:22):
We need to bring that kind of manufacturing, those technologies,
and those materials back into the United States. It is
a high priority of the Trump administration.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
Secretary, right, you spend a lot of time talking to executives,
as does the President. I just want you to rehaar
what the Nvidia CEO said on the Hell just this week.
Take a listen.
Speaker 4 (04:43):
In order for this industry to thrive, we need to
build these systems, of course, but we also need a
progressive growth and industry oriented energy policy, which this president
has really put his way behind. I really appreciate that
without energy, we can't possibly have new growth industries.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
An industry focused energy policy for AI. Secretary, Right, what
does that industry policy look like?
Speaker 2 (05:14):
That means getting the barriers out of the way of
energy production. Divide. The administration spent four years in sort
of an all of government approach to impede the production
of hydrocarbons in the United States up for all energy sources.
But hydrocarbons are over eighty percent of US energy when
I was born and they are today. So if you
(05:34):
stand in the way of our main energy system, guess
what you get? Higher prices. We grew our electricity production
only two percent, twenty percent price rise. So to achieve
in Vidia's and America's dream to win the AI race,
we've got to produce a lot more electricity, a lot
more of energy of all sorts in the United States.
And all the government needs to do is get out
(05:55):
of the way a little bit of common sense. There's
American businesses, a Maria capital, American technologies ready to roar,
and President Trump's goal is to unleash that American energy,
that American capital and let American energy production grow sexually.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Right, though, is there potential that you're accidentally getting in
the way because of geopolitics and trade issues. Because the
energy lack of in many ways is an infrastructure and
supply chain issue. You don't have the turbines to be
able to bring the energy at the infrastructure rate that
the CEOs want to see. There's not enough equipment. Is
(06:31):
there enough time to pivot to make that in the US.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Oh, I've spoken to the turbine manufacturers and they are
in huge demand right now. But ge Vernova made twenty
seven of them last year. They'll make eighty of them
next year. So that Americans are ingenious and with a
little bit of regulatory common sense, they can ramp up
their capacity rapidly. So no, I'm quite excited about how
(06:57):
much new energy production capacity we'll see in the United
States under construction today, and a lot more will be
under construction by the end of this year. I think
we will ramp it up in time. But you're right,
it's going to be a race. It's going to be
a race, but we must lead in AI and that
means we must rapidly grow our energy production. But we're
up for the.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Job, Secretary, right, How reliant will the AI boom in
this country be on fossil fuels. And while we have you,
what is the plan for the SPR?
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Pleads Well, the natural gas is by far the biggest
source of electricity in the United States, followed by nuclear
and coal, so that's what's going to power the race.
It's slow to build coal plants and nuclear plants are
very slow. We want to change that. But in the
short term, the main source of additional electricity that will
(07:48):
power AI arms race is going to be expanded natural
gas electricity production. That'll be the workhorse of winning the
AI race. But a lot of solars getting built, transmission,
energy store bridge, all of the above that works, that'll
add to it. Your last question, sorry, repeat it again.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
The status of the SPR. Please.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Hey, the SPR was half drained for the twenty twenty
two mid term elections, so we are filling it slowly
right now, but we're going to try to get money
through Congress to fill it more rapidly. But unfortunately you
can only fill it at a much slower pace than
you can drain it, so it will take us years
to fill it back. But we will entirely fill it
because it's a strategic reserve. You got to have that
(08:32):
because you never know what's coming.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
We appreciate your time outside, of course Rehinai America Corporation.
US Energy Secretary Chris Right
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