MaddowBlog-On renewable energy, Interior's Burgum offers a case study in willful ignorance

[LetMyPeopleVote]

People keep trying to tell the Trump Cabinet secretary that battery power exists. He keeps saying foolish things about renewable energy anyway.

On renewable energy, Interior’s Burgum offers a case study in willful ignorance - MS NOW apple.news/ANlNBbErJRBa...

— (@oc88.bsky.social) 2026-05-14T14:07:07.725Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/bergum-trump-interior-renewable-energy

Unfortunately, he’s not the only Republican who’s expressed confusion about this. The New Republic reported:

The secretary of the interior should presumably know how solar power generation works. On Wednesday, Doug Burgum showed that he does not.

Burgum was testifying before the House Natural Resources Committee, and exposed himself under questioning from Democratic Representative Jared Huffman, who brought up energy projects in Nevada.

The Cabinet secretary, toeing the GOP line, told Huffman that solar arrays “produce zero electricity” after sundown.

“Mr. Chairman, I request unanimous consent to enter in the record this amazing new technology that apparently the secretary is unaware of: It’s a battery,” the California Democrat replied. “China’s figured it out. That’s why they’re cleaning our clock on clean energy.”

BURGUM: When the sun goes down, solar produces zero electricity

HUFFMAN: I want to enter into the record this amazing new technology that apparently the secretary is unaware of -- it's a battery

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-05-13T15:05:00.011Z

.....But as people keep trying to help Burgum understand, battery technology exists. As MS NOW host Catherine Rampell explained in a Washington Post column a couple of years ago:

Growth in clean-electricity generation is a longer-term trend driven largely by technological improvements that have improved solar’s and wind’s cost-competitiveness. But recent policy changes, such Biden’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, have also accelerated development. The same forces are boosting battery development, which is helping solve intermittency problems caused by relying on wind or solar when the weather doesn’t cooperate. The Energy Information Administration recently forecast that U.S. battery storage capacity will nearly double [in 2024] alone.

Since that column was first published, U.S. battery storage capacity had an even better year in 2025.

If Burgum made one foolish comment about this years ago, because he wasn’t up to speed on the relevant details, he could be forgiven for being confused. But the fact that he keeps making the same mistake, even after being presented with the facts, highlights the difference between ignorance and willful ignorance.

[Norrrm]

1. Various people get credit for willful ignorance regarding the paycheck. Upton Sinclair is one.

Never argue with a man whose job depends on not being convinced.
It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.
It can be very hard to understand something, when misunderstanding it is essential to your paycheck.
It is rather pointless to argue with a man whose paycheck depends upon not knowing the right answer.

https://quoteinvestigator.com/2017/11/30/salary/

It can become appropriate when grift and graft are part of the paycheck.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

2. Breaking news: Batteries

[LetMyPeopleVote]

3. This made me smile

Link to tweet