Topline
President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders Tuesday aimed at revitalizing America’s “beautiful clean coal industry”—an objective that stems from his first term and comes amid growing demand for electricity sources to power artificial intelligence data centers.
President Donald Trump speaks alongside coal and energy workers during an executive order signing … More
Key Facts
The four orders signed will relax regulatory barriers, including environmental restrictions, on coal facilities, attempt to speed up the approval process for new mines and aim to open more federal land to mining, Trump said Tuesday from the White House.
One of the orders also sought to remove “unlawful and burdensome state-level impediments to domestic energy production” and directed the attorney general to “take action” against states with laws burdening the use of domestic energy.
Trump—who spoke surrounded by dozens of miners at the White House—also said the orders will push for coal to be used to power new artificial intelligence data centers, and he said he would “guarantee” coal would be safe from “the ups and downs of the world of politics,” though he didn’t provide details.
Trump said “we’re bringing back an industry that was abandoned,” vowing coal plants will “always be operational,” while repeatedly referring to coal as “clean” and “beautiful.”
Coal emits significantly more carbon dioxide when burned than oil and natural gas and is a major source of global warming.
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Chief Critic
“Coal plants are old and dirty, uncompetitive and unreliable,” Natural Resources Defense Council Managing Director Kit Kennedy told The New York Times. “The Trump administration is stuck in the past, trying to make utility customers pay more for yesterday’s energy. Instead, it should be doing all it can to build the electricity grid of the future.”
Crucial Quote
Trump told reporters from the Oval Office on Monday “our power is not reliable enough . . . we need massive amounts of electricity if we’re going to compete with China and others” on artificial intelligence.
Key Background
The U.S. has sharply reduced its reliance on coal for electricity amid a transition to energy sources that are safer for the environment, including natural gas, wind and solar. The Biden administration attempted to further reduce coal output by issuing an Environmental Protection Agency rule that would have required coal-fired power plants to reduce their carbon emissions by 90% or shut down by 2039. Trump ordered the EPA to repeal the rule shortly after taking office in January, and it began dismantling restrictions on carbon emissions from coal plants last month, The Washington Post reported.
Big Number
15%. That’s how much U.S. electricity is generated from coal, down from nearly 50 in 2011, according to The New York Times.
Further Reading
Trump plans to sign an executive order aimed at reviving the struggling coal industry (New York Times)
Trump to sign executive order aimed at revitalizing coal industry (CBS)
Trump Order Seeks to Tap Coal Power in Quest to Dominate AI (Bloomberg)
