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Secretary Wright Marks 100 Days at a Georgia Water-Heater Plant and Puts Prior DOE Loans Under Review on Bloomberg

May 2, 2025 · U.S. Department of Energy · 0:08:38

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What happened

Secretary of Energy Chris Wright marked the administration’s first 100 days on Bloomberg Technology on May 2, 2025, speaking from a water-heater plant in Griffin, Georgia, according to the Department of Energy broadcast. Wright said a December 26 rule from the prior administration would have made the plant’s low-cost tankless water heaters illegal, costing hundreds of Georgia jobs and a low-cost choice used by over a million Americans, and that the new administration’s policy reversal keeps the factory humming, as stated in the interview.

Asked about Rivian’s $6.6 billion Department of Energy loan for its Georgia EV plant, Wright said all loans and grants from the prior administration are under review, noting that about 80 percent of the loan and grant money went out after President Trump was elected and before inauguration day, according to his remarks. He said some loans will go forward, some are too late to change, and “a lot of them won’t go forward,” under a careful review process, as stated in the interview.

Wright also said the department is looking at how to reshore manufacturing of critical systems — including battery storage components now made in China — for defense, grid, auto, and space applications, according to his remarks.

Why it matters

The 100-day interview converts Wright’s abstract “review everything” posture into a concrete example (the Griffin plant) and a concrete warning (the Rivian loan), with the post-election lending surge as his central justification.

Sources: U.S. Department of Energy, “Secretary Wright Joins Bloomberg Technology - May 2, 2025”, 2025-05-02 (official upload, embedded above; published 2025-05-02). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.