United States Energy Secretary Chris Wright has been in the news over the last few days for a series of pointed comments and high profile site visits that highlight the direction of current energy policy under the Trump administration.

During a visit to the Ice Harbor Dam in Washington state, the Tri City Herald reports that Wright strongly praised hydropower as a backbone of affordable electricity in the Northwest and criticized what he called climate craziness in parts of the environmental agenda. He argued that hydropower provides dispatchable power that is available when needed and said it is a key reason electricity prices in the region are below the national average. He contrasted that with Washington states gasoline policies, which he blamed for some of the highest fuel prices in the nation.

According to the same reporting, Wright firmly backed the lower Snake River dams, aligning with a June memo signed by President Trump aimed at preventing their removal and reversing earlier Biden era support for breaching them. Environmental groups and the Nez Perce tribe responded by emphasizing the dams role as a major obstacle to recovering endangered salmon and arguing that their power could be replaced with modern clean energy alternatives.

On clean energy subsidies, Wright said wind and solar have already benefited from more than three decades of support and reiterated his preference for minimal subsidization overall. He noted that the One Big Beautiful Bill championed by Trump includes eight years of incentives to bolster nuclear power and next generation geothermal projects, while phasing out wind and solar subsidies. He insisted that permitting for renewables is not being targeted, but criticized what he described as rushed approvals over local objections in past years.

The Tri City Herald also reports that Wright faced questions about nuclear cleanup at the Hanford site in Washington. Senator Patty Murray had said Wright planned to delay the start of waste vitrification, the process of turning radioactive tank waste into glass for disposal, because of safety concerns. Wright denied that account as a crazy story and said the department remains committed to cleaning up the nations nuclear legacy from World War Two and the Cold War. He is scheduled to tour Hanford and meet with site leaders as the Department of Energy evaluates one of the largest proposed solar and battery projects in the country on unused Hanford land, a plan that began under the previous administration.

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