6 hours Ago
Presidential-elect Donald Trump on Friday announced that Republican North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum will chair Trump's newly created National Energy Council in addition to Burgum being nominated to run the Department of the Interior. The council "will consist of all Departments and Agencies involved in the permitting, production, generation distribution regulation, transportation, of ALL forms of American Energy," Trump said in a statement on Truth Social.
Trump said Burgum will have a role on the National Security Council, promising to "DRILL BABY DRILL." The U.S.
is producing record levels of oil and gas. Production has generally been on an upward trend under presidents of both parties since the early 2000s when oil companies improved upon shale drilling technology to access unconventional oil formations, despite some Democrats' stated desire to phase down the use of the fuel. North Dakota is the third-largest oil-producing state in the U.
S. and has significant coal reserves as well. The state is also one of the country's larger wind power producers.
and in recent decades has become a big producer of biofuels such as corn-based ethanol and soy-based renewable diesel. The state has some of the lowest levels of solar power in the country. Burgum as governor has pushed back against the Biden administration's environmental regulations, but has also advocated for an "all-of-the-above" approach to energy.
As governor, Burgum has advocated to make North Dakota carbon-neutral by 2030. The term refers to the levels of heat-trapping CO2 entering the atmosphere being equal to those that are captured and stored or used, which can be accomplished through a number of methods. He has mostly worked to accomplish this by relying on industrial carbon capture technology.
There are some ongoing projects, but the rollout has proven difficult due to local concerns around safety and land rights along with financing issues for the pricey and relatively nascent technology. In a recent feature by Bloomberg, Burgum declined to take a position on the scientific consensus on climate change, instead saying carbon capture presented a big opportunity for North Dakota's economy. Captured CO2 can also be used to rejuvenate aging oilfields, and large amounts will be needed in about a decade to keep North Dakota production high, according to state regulators.
“Being selected to lead the U.S. Department of the Interior is an incredible honor and an enormous responsibility, and I’m deeply grateful to President Trump for this opportunity to serve the American people in such a broad capacity,” Burgum said in a Friday statement.
“Serving as Interior Secretary is an opportunity to redefine and improve upon the federal government’s relationship with tribal nations, landowners, mineral developers, outdoor enthusiasts and others, with a focus on maximizing the responsible use of our natural resources with environmental stewardship for the benefit of the American people.” Trump on Friday said the administration will be "dramatically increasing baseload power." The term is used to refer to power sources that can run around the clock.
In the U.S., these are mostly natural gas-fired power plants, but the term also includes incumbent technologies such as coal, nuclear and hydro power.
Gas and coal produce significant levels of climate-warming CO2 emissions; nuclear and hydro do not. Geothermal energy could also provide clean baseload, but its development is relatively limited. Trump added that Burgum would help "WIN the battle for (Artificial Intelligence) superiority.
" Burgum, a former technology executive who sold his company to Microsoft, has advocated for the expansion of AI datacenters in North Dakota, in part to put more of the state's energy resources to work locally. The deployment of data centers has brought with it some controversy. One facility has caused local noise issues in northwestern Williams County and caused electric rates to rise for the customers of a state-based utility after it put strain on the power grid.
Electric utility companies are rushing to build out more infrastructure to prevent data centers from becoming a burden on consumers, though some regulators and consumer advocates worry these costs could end up falling to customers. Some from the state have floated the idea of companies providing their own power generation. “The National Energy Council will foster an unprecedented level of coordination among federal agencies to advance American energy.
By establishing U.S. energy dominance, we can jumpstart our economy, drive down costs for consumers and generate billions in revenue to help reduce our deficit,” Burgum said.
“Focusing on innovation over regulation to solve the nation’s challenges will allow us to smartly expand American energy and make our world cleaner and safer by selling energy to our friends and allies versus them having to buy it from our adversaries.” Burgum as National Energy Council chairman will also have a seat on the National Security Council, according to Trump. Interior secretary Trump on Thursday night announced that he would nominate Burgum for Interior secretary.
He did not mention the so-called "energy czar" post at the time. Burgum, 68, is nearing the end of his second term in the North Dakota governor's office, where he did not seek reelection and instead launched an unsuccessful campaign for president. One of Burgum's duties as governor has been to chair the state Industrial Commission, which oversees the energy industry in North Dakota.
The Interior Department manages federal lands and minerals, national parks, wildlife refuges, and upholds trust responsibilities to Indian tribes and Alaskan Natives. It oversees numerous bureaus, including Reclamation, Land Management and Indian Affairs; the National Park Service; the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service; and the U.S. Geological Survey.
It has 70,000 employees, 280,000 volunteers, and 2,400 locations around the country. Burgum's administration regularly fought U.S.
regulatory agencies under the Biden administration. This summer, Burgum compared Biden to a "dictator" for some of his economic and environmental policies. A number of environmental and conservation groups released statements critical of Burgum's nomination.
“Running the Interior department requires someone who can find balance between recreation, conservation, hunting, ranching, mining, and -- yes -- oil drilling. If Doug Burgum tries to turn America’s public lands into an even bigger cash cow for the oil and gas industry, or tries to shrink America’s parks and national monuments, he’ll quickly discover he’s on the wrong side of history,” the Center for Western Priorities said in a statement. The group was also critical of Burgum's close ties to the oil industry, pointing to a meeting in April first reported by the Washington Post in which Burgum, alongside oil magnate Harold Hamm, organized a dinner at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club, where Trump asked oil and gas executives to raise $1 billion for his campaign and said once in office he would repeal many of Biden's climate policies.
Reporting by ProPublica and the North Dakota Monitor also shows that Burgum receives up to $51,000 annually in mineral royalties combined from Hamm's Continental Resources and from Hess Corp., two of North Dakota’s largest oil producers, and that his wife, Kathryn Burgum, owns stock in nine energy companies. But one conservation group expressed hope.
“The next secretary of the Interior will have a critical role to play in responsibly stewarding America’s invaluable wildlife, public lands and waters, and natural resources,” said Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. “Governor Doug Burgum has often been a strong advocate for science-driven wildlife management, conservation of wildlife habitat, promotion of the outdoor recreation economy, and reductions in pollution through commonsense carbon management and appropriately sited clean energy. We hope he will carry these experiences to the Interior Department and provide the type of balanced, farsighted leadership that people and wildlife alike need.
” Meanwhile, the North Dakota Stockmen's Association -- the state's largest ranching group -- put out a statement praising the appointment. “We are excited to learn that Governor Doug Burgum has been nominated to serve as the U.S.
Department of the Interior secretary,” said NDSA President Randy Schmitt, a Rugby cow-calf producer. “The DOI has a multi-faceted portfolio, and Governor Burgum’s energy and agriculture expertise and common-sense, business approach make him well-suited for the position." Reach Joey Harris at 701-250-8252 or joseph.
[email protected] . Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
.
