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Administrator Zeldin Explains Why America Needs Reliable, Durable Baseload Power

May 1, 2026 · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · 0:01:41

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

In Senate hearing remarks shared by the EPA, Administrator Lee Zeldin disputed Senator Sheldon Whitehouse’s claim that offshore wind is the cheapest form of energy. Zeldin said, as he stated it, that the Senator’s levelized-cost figures omit the cost of firming — storing wind power to make it dispatchable — and that all-in costs for fossil and nuclear sources already online compare favorably once those costs are counted.

Zeldin said, as he stated it, that during many weeks of very cold temperatures Americans relied on access to reliable, durable baseload power to stay warm, and thanked Republican members for their advocacy on the issue.

Why it matters

Zeldin’s testimony is the EPA’s stated case for baseload power in its permitting and rulemaking posture, preserved here in the chronicle’s energy record with its cost argument attributed to him as stated.

Sources: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Administrator Zeldin Explains Why America Needs Reliable, Durable Baseload Power”, 2026-05-01 (official upload, embedded above; published 2026-05-01). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.