On Tuesday’s broadcast of Bloomberg’s “Balance of Power,” Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) responded to Energy Secretary Chris Wright touting energy exports by saying, “That sounds like the energy policy of Angola, right? If you’re praising that we can dig holes in the United States and export things to other countries that they can turn into higher-value goods and services, that’s a very extractive view of the United States economy.”
Casten said, “Look at what investors want to build in the United States, there are no investors lining up to build coal plants in the United States, and I think Chris Wright’s — but there are investors lining up to build solar and wind, and that’s what markets want, because it’s cheaper.”
He continued, “I think Secretary Wright’s comments are a tell. That sounds like the energy policy of Angola, right? If you’re praising that we can dig holes in the United States and export things to other countries that they can turn into higher-value goods and services, that’s a very extractive view of the United States economy. And I would submit to you that nine out of ten Americans do not give a damn about whether or not we are digging things out of the United States and selling it in Dubrovnik, what they want to know is what are you doing to give me access to cheaper energy so that I can keep my home warm, so that I can keep my house well-lit, so that the factory that employs me is going to have low costs and can compete against foreign competition. And if you think the only purpose of U.S. energy policy is to dig holes and export, I guess appoint Chris Wright Energy Secretary. But that’s not historically what’s really built the strength. We have to have a consumer-focused energy policy, not an exporter-focused energy policy.”
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