02.03.25

Hoeven Votes to Confirm Chris Wright as Secretary of Energy

Senator Worked to Advance Wright through ENR Committee, Secure Support for Confirmation

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today issued the following statement after the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Chris Wright as Secretary of Energy. As a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee, Hoeven helped introduce Wright during his nomination hearing and worked to advance his nomination through the committee and full Senate. The senator secured commitments from Wright during his confirmation process to advance key priorities for North Dakota. Among other efforts, Hoeven stressed the need to support the development of new technologies like carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), including Project Tundra. Such innovations will empower the U.S. to produce more energy from all of its abundant resources, including its vast coal, oil and gas reserves, while improving environmental stewardship.

          “Chris Wright is another great addition to the Trump administration, bringing a wealth of knowledge and real-world experience to the job of Energy Secretary,” said Hoeven. “He knows what it takes to develop new technologies and make them commercially-viable. In North Dakota, we’ve seen firsthand his success in the private sector with the growth in the Bakken. We look forward to working with him in his new role to build upon that record of innovation and unleash America’s energy potential, including through North Dakota’s leadership in CCUS technologies.”

Securing North Dakota’s Leadership in CCUS

Hoeven has worked over the past 15 years to advance North Dakota’s leadership in cracking the code on CCUS technologies to enable the next generation of clean, coal-fired electric power and ensure continued access to this reliable, affordable and abundant energy source. Among other priorities, his efforts have included:

  • Putting in place the legal, tax and regulatory requirements to advance CCUS.
  • Making North Dakota the first state to be granted regulatory primacy for Class VI wells, to ensure CO2 is safely and securely stored below the surface.
  • Securing a demonstration grant from the Department of Energy to advance Project Tundra, enabling the coal-fired Milton R. Young power plant to capture and store 4 million metric tons of CO2 per year.
  • Advancing Basin’s Dakota Gasification synfuels plant, the largest coal-based carbon capture project in the world, which is currently in operation and captures up to 2.25 million metric tons of CO2 per year.

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