U.S. energy is dominating the world, Secretary of Energy Rick Perry noted in a Game of Thrones-themed video the agency published Friday night.
“Innovation has spoken and it has refuted them completely,” Perry said in the video, referring to critics who supposedly say the U.S. is “running out of resources like oil.” He added: “We are not running out of energy.” The former Texas Governor also promoted the use of generation IV nuclear power to help reduce emissions.
“A new American energy era is coming,” Perry noted before listing some of the successes he says the Trump administration has had exporting energy. The U.S. has made big gains exporting coal and liquefied natural gas, he said, noting that coal exports had “their second best year ever.”
“Energy independence used to be a sound bite. Now it’s a reality,” said Perry, who drew a considerable amount of criticism in March after announcing a $3.7 billion in additional federal loans for the primary owners of a nuclear power project in Georgia that has been beset with delays and cost overruns. The Department of Energy video used a Games of Thrones-themed soundtrack overlaid with visuals of Perry touting U.S. energy achievements.
The video was published on the Friday before the first episode of the final season of Game of Thrones.
The loans are designed to help Vogtle Electric Generating Plant construct two nuclear reactors. Units 3 and 4 were planned to be completed by 2017, but have been plagued with construction delays and high costs. Unit 3 will not be ready to be loaded with fuel until 2020, while Unit 4 won’t go online until 2021. Perry claims regulations and permitting problems are to blame for the starts and stops.
Meanwhile, experts believe coal exports will continue to make gains. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicted in 2018 that exports will surge 10 percent above 2017 despite an overall lag in production. Coal exports were up 32 percent in the first half of 2018 compared to the same time the previous year.
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