President-elect Donald Trump announced Friday that Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND), who he selected to lead the Department of the Interior, will also chair a newly formed National Energy Council.
According to a statement by the Trump administration, the National Energy Council will consist of agencies and departments across the government involved in energy permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation, and transportation.
“This Council will oversee the path to U.S. ENERGY DOMINANCE by cutting red tape, enhancing private sector investments across all sectors of the Economy, and by focusing on INNOVATION over longstanding, but totally unnecessary, regulation,” the statement reads.
The new council will also focus on winning the “arms race” with China over artificial intelligence, it stated. Trump added that Burgum would also serve on the National Security Council. Rising electricity demand from data centers used for AI has placed new strains on power grids in recent months. That, in turn, has led to a revival of interest in nuclear power.