US President Donald Trump has signed four executive orders aimed at reviving coal mining in the country. Addressing miners, the president called coal “beautiful” and promised to remove all barriers to its extraction and use in energy. Environmentalists consider these steps outdated and unjustified, but the situation with electricity supplies in the US is far from ideal and requires unpopular measures.
Image source: interestingengineering.com
In recent years, the United States has developed a situation that has led to a deficit in both the production and delivery of electricity to consumers. At the same time, the growth of the electric vehicle fleet and, especially, the expansion of artificial intelligence require more and more electricity, for which there is no quick source of replenishment yet. In the short term, the deficit should be covered by gas power plants, and in the long term – by nuclear power plants. But coal cannot be discounted either, as Trump explained in his new decrees. In addition, these are jobs and growth of industrial production in the United States.
Speaking to a group of hard-hatted coal miners after signing the orders on Tuesday, the president said he would cut “unnecessary regulations that target beautiful, clean coal.” He said the government would speed up the process of leasing coal on federal lands, streamline permitting and “end the government’s bias against coal.” Trump backed his authority to make unpopular decisions by citing the Defense Production Act, which allows the president to manually regulate the extraction and distribution of natural resources.
Coal will now be considered a mineral critical to the country’s national security. New executive orders will now prohibit some coal-fired power plants from shutting down if they had previously planned to do so as part of the decarbonization of the energy sector. “Nothing can kill coal,” Trump said, despite expert data to the contrary.
The industry has been in decline for decades. In 2001, coal provided 51 percent of U.S. electricity generation. That figure has now dropped to about 15 percent. Coal consumption peaked in 2007 and has been declining since then, thanks to cheaper alternatives and environmental regulations.
While some coal plants have closed due to environmental concerns, the main reason has been that other energy sources have become cheaper. Natural gas has become more affordable, and renewables like wind and solar have quickly gained popularity. In fact, 99% of coal plants in the U.S. cost more to operate than to build new wind or solar plants, according to a 2023 report from Energy Innovation.
«”Nothing can destroy coal. Not weather, not a bomb, nothing,” Trump said back in January 2025 during a virtual speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “And we have more coal than anyone.”
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Make America Rich & Powerful Again! pic.twitter.com/9hbZjwCX3K
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And while experts generally do not approve of such a “resurrection” of fossil fuels, the decisions of the current US president will have force and consequences for the industry.
The first order, for example, orders all government agencies to end policies that “discriminate” against the coal industry. It also lifts an Obama-era moratorium on coal leasing on federal lands.
The second order freezes what Trump called “unscientific and unrealistic policies put in place by the Biden administration,” which he said would help protect coal plants. The third order aims to ensure the “safety and security of the energy grid” and opposes policies Trump calls “man-made” and harmful to fossil fuel sources. The fourth order directs the Justice Department to investigate “unconstitutional” state laws that restrict the use of coal.
Trump also wants to increase coal exports and promote coal technology. He believes that coal can meet the growing demand for electricity caused by the development of data centers, industry, and electric vehicles. As controversial as these initiatives are, few would doubt the value of coal for the steel industry. It is the basis of many industries, and replacing it in this area will be difficult even in the distant future.