The Hidden Truth About the US Energy Grid: Subsidies, Demand & Rising Prices - Chris Wright

Wright’s most concrete nuclear promise was a working next-generation small modular reactor on federal land by the following July 4, though it would not yet sell power to the grid. DOE would permit it at Idaho National Laboratory, coordinate with the NRC, and expects commercial reactors to break ground earlier.

The administration is preparing to use existing gas and diesel capacity as a near-term answer to AI-driven power demand, rather than wait for major new generation. Wright said the grid has slack 98% of the time and plans regulatory changes so backup generators can run during peak hours, adding gigawatts of firm capacity.

DOE is turning national-lab land into a fast-track zone for AI infrastructure, and demand appears immediate. Wright said an RFP inviting data centers onto lab property drew 300 responses, promising faster permits and help securing power while keeping the new load from raising household electricity costs.

Wright is resisting some of his own administration’s cuts: he wants energy subsidies slashed, but national-lab science protected. He said more than $500 billion in energy subsidies were cut, he wanted the full $1 trillion removed, yet he is defending roughly $10 billion annually for the 17 labs and expects to succeed.

DOGE is not gone inside the Energy Department; Wright says it has effectively been rebranded and its alumni remain embedded across DOE operations. He described former DOGE recruits reviewing labs and participating in “every process,” portraying the personnel network—not the original label—as the lasting mechanism.

The sharpest strategic takeaway on China was that it is pursuing every energy source at once for security, not choosing between fossil fuels, nuclear and renewables. The panel cited heavy solar and nuclear buildout, while Wright added China built about 100 coal plants and controls more than 80% of the solar supply chain.

Wright directly rejected Elon Musk’s long-term solar thesis, betting solar will never reach 10% of global energy even 50 years from now. Chamath, despite investing in solar and storage, predicted distributed homeowners using solar and batteries could become America’s largest utility—and still applauded ending subsidies.

Wright’s core case rests on a stubborn global-energy claim: oil, gas and coal supplied 85% of world energy in both 1973 and 2024 despite five decades of transition efforts. He put nuclear near 4% and wind, solar and batteries below 3%, arguing diversification has not materially displaced hydrocarbons.