“Net-zero policies raise energy costs for American families and businesses, threaten the reliability of our energy system, and undermine our energy and national security,” DOE Secretary Wright said.

The U.S. Department of Energy will focus on growing baseload and dispatchable generation to meet growing electricity demand, DOE Secretary Chris Wright said Wednesday in an order outlining the department’s priorities under the Trump administration.

“We must … permit and build energy infrastructure and remove barriers to progress, including federal policies that make it too easy to stop projects and far too difficult to complete projects,” Wright said.

DOE will focus on adding energy resources, not taking them away, according to Wright, who was confirmed by the Senate on Monday. “Net-zero policies raise energy costs for American families and businesses, threaten the reliability of our energy system, and undermine our energy and national security,” Wright said. “They have also achieved precious little in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions.”

DOE will “exercise all lawful authorities” to strengthen the U.S. power grid, including the transmission system, according to Wright. “This is an imperative as we consider current and anticipated load growth on our nation’s electric utilities,” Wright said.

Also, DOE will support more efficient permitting to enable private sector energy investments, according to Wright. “The department will identify and exercise its legal authorities to expedite the approval and construction of reliable energy infrastructure,” he said.

Wright said DOE will support emerging nuclear power technologies. “The department will work diligently and creatively to enable the rapid deployment and export of next-generation nuclear technology,” he said.

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For more on the government and the utility industry, check out the Supreme Court’s Chevron decision and this report on distribution transformers in the power grid.