Standing before Ice Harbor Dam, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright reaffirmed the Trump administration’s commitment to “energy abundance” on Dec. 4, pledging continued support for the operation of Ice Harbor and other dams that power the Pacific Northwest.

Calling the dams a critical source of dispatchable power that’s “there when you need it,” Wright said lawmakers must do whatever they can to keep energy costs affordable, whether at the pump or in homes.

“The hydro power assets in Washington state and in the Pacific Northwest are why you’ve got well below national average electricity prices here,” Wright said during a rainy press conference on a bluff just downstream of Ice Harbor on the Snake River east of Pasco. “The Trump administration wants to do everything we can to keep it that way.”

The remarks came after Wright toured the dam, where a new turbine unit from Voith Hydro was installed earlier this fall, one which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said will provide improved hydropower generation while also improving fish passage.

The turbine installation marked the end of the decade-long $149 million project.

When asked about whether wind and solar had a role in the administration’s energy goals, especially with improvements in battery technology, Wright said the administration isn’t opposed to those clean energy sources. However, he said they need to be implemented while respecting the communities they are located in and be able to compete in the energy market.

“Thirty-three years of subsidies, shouldn’t that be enough?” he said, referring to tax incentives, credits and other financial support for wind and solar implementation.

The states of Washington and Oregon, tribes and environmental groups have resumed litigation against the federal government over the dam and three others on the lower Snake River, arguing that they have harmed endangered fish species and Tribal treaty-protected fishing and cultural rights.

The Trump administration in June withdrew from a deal made two years ago under the Biden administration that called for putting long-running legal battles aside and investing in the restoration of endangered Columbia River fish runs. 

Wright said he would not comment on the ongoing litigation but that wildlife and the environment are central to the president’s agenda despite claims otherwise.

“So much of the environmental agenda has been hijacked by just climate craziness,” he said. “People that don’t understand climate change and that don’t understand the energy system have hijacked all the energy and all the resources away from real environmental issues and have gone in an unproductive direction. We’re trying to bring common sense back, better environmental outcomes, better prices, affordability, job opportunity outcomes for the American people.”