Rick Perry Looks To Bring Texas Approach To Energy Department

On Thursday, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry was sworn in as the energy secretary for the Trump administration. NPR looks ahead to a series of upcoming pieces examining Perry's role in expanding wind energy production in Texas.

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

The Senate confirmed former Texas Governor Rick Perry as Secretary of Energy yesterday. At his swearing-in, Perry described what Donald Trump told him before offering him the job.

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RICK PERRY: I want you to do for American energy what you did for Texas.

SHAPIRO: Next week, we'll go deep into one of the things Rick Perry did for Texas. And when I say go deep, I actually mean climb way up into the air, hundreds of feet above the West Texas plains to the top of a wind turbine.

Oh, my God. This is terrifying. But I'm doing it.

The job of wind technician is the fastest growing job in the country today. And Texas produces more wind energy than almost any country in the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: People just want to follow stereotypes like, oh, Texas Republican, Texas is red, Texas is conservative, and not a look at what those things really mean.

SHAPIRO: So what have Governor Rick Perry have to do with building renewable energy?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Here's a guy from West Texas who saw that you can make money off of the wind blowing. Like, that's a no-brainer.

SHAPIRO: And what does it mean for the rest of the country now that Rick Perry is the energy secretary? We'll get those stories from Texas next week on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.

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