Trump Picks Former TX Gov. to Head Energy Department, Mixed Response from RE Sector

US President-elect Donald J. Trump yesterday announced his intent to name former Texas Governor Rick Perry as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), which resulted in mixed response from the renewable energy sector. 

Some have voiced their concerns about Rick Perry heading the DOE and thus adding another member to the government to take the office in January who is a climate change sceptic, and who once proposed that the department should be eliminated. Namely, Donald Trump has recently appointed Rex Tillerson, Chairman and CEO of oil and gas giant ExxonMobil, as the Secretary of State and Scott Pruitt as the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which Pruitt had sued over its regulations of power plants.

On the other hand, some welcomed Governor Perry’s background in recognising clean energy opportunities, which ultimately led the state of Texas to being the US leader in wind energy.

“He increased the ambition of the state’s Renewable Energy Standard, directed state funds to innovative wind energy R&D initiatives, and created a ‘Competitive Renewable Energy Zone’ that helped expand transmission of renewables, bringing clean wind energy from rural communities to new state markets,” said Tom Kiernan, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).

Mixed reactions about the latest choice made by the President-elect might be best noticeable in the statement from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).

Ken Kimmell, president of the UCS, said: “The Department of Energy has the critical responsibilities of maintaining our nuclear weapons stockpile and responsibly managing the resulting radioactive waste, tasks with which Governor Perry has little experience. The agency also plays an important role in advancing national energy policy, an area where he has a lot to contribute. 

“However, the fact that Governor Perry refuses to accept the broad scientific consensus on climate change calls into question his fitness to head up a science-based agency like DOE. His nomination only adds to concerns ignited last week by a questionnaire Trump’s transition team sent to DOE aimed at ferreting out employees focused on climate-related agency work. But there’s also reason for cautious optimism. 

“As governor of Texas, Mr. Perry saw the job creation and business opportunity provided by clean energy, helping to turn Texas into the national leader in wind power. In fact, he increased the ambition of the state’s Renewable Energy Standard, directed state funds to innovative wind energy R&D initiatives, and created a ‘Competitive Renewable Energy Zone’ that helped expand transmission of renewables, bringing clean wind energy from rural communities to new state markets. 

 “We hope as DOE secretary, Governor Perry builds on the successful work currently underway at the agency in areas like grid modernization, energy efficiency, and clean energy finance. Most important is that he supports the agency’s critical work on clean energy R&D, which has helped create jobs by improving the cost and performance of renewable energy technologies, and help develop and commercialize new, innovative clean energy technologies.”

Under Governor Perry’s leadership, Texas became a national leader for job creation, innovation and population growth, it is stated in a press release on President-elect’s website.

“As the Governor of Texas, Rick Perry created a business climate that produced millions of new jobs and lower energy prices in his state, and he will bring that same approach to our entire country as Secretary of Energy,” said President-elect Trump. “My administration is going to make sure we take advantage of our huge natural resource deposits to make America energy independent and create vast new wealth for our nation, and Rick Perry is going to do an amazing job as the leader of that process.”

Gov. Perry said: “As the former governor of the nation’s largest energy producing state, I know American energy is critical to our economy and our security. I look forward to engaging in a conversation about the development, stewardship and regulation of our energy resources, safeguarding our nuclear arsenal, and promoting an American energy policy that creates jobs and puts America first.”