Trump Administration Unveils $625 Million Plan to Revive Coal
Industry as Coal Demand Soars
The new effort, which includes opening
13.1 million acres of federal land for mining and eliminating pollution limits,
aims to save an industry that has been declining for decades.
Policy
Announcements
·
Interior Department: Opening
13.1 million acres of federal land for coal mining; lowering royalty rates for
extraction.
·
Energy Department:
Allocating $625 million to upgrade and extend the life of existing coal plants.
·
Environmental Protection Agency:
Repealing Biden-era regulations on carbon dioxide, mercury, and wastewater
pollution from coal plants.
Strategic
Framing
·
Coal described as an economic necessity, not a
climate issue.
·
Officials echoed slogans like “Clean, beautiful
coal” and “Mine, baby, mine.”
·
President Trump pledged energy exports (coal, oil,
LNG) to global partners at the UN.
Industry
Context
·
Coal’s share of U.S. electricity fell from ~50% to
16% since mid-2000s.
·
Hundreds of coal plants retired; employment in coal
mining declined.
·
Stricter pollution rules and competition from
natural gas, wind, and solar contributed to the decline.
Revival
Measures
·
Emergency orders issued to prevent scheduled coal
plant closures (e.g., Michigan).
·
More than 100 plants still plan to retire by end of
Trump’s term.
·
Utilities are delaying closure of 50+ coal-burning
units due to rising electricity demand from AI and data centers.
Grid
Reliability Debate
·
Energy Department study warns of blackout risks if
coal plants retire too quickly.
·
Clean-energy advocates and Democratic-led states
dispute the study’s pessimism, citing growth in renewables and battery storage.
Global
& Environmental Impact
·
Sierra Club warns of increased pollution and higher
electricity costs.
·
“Beyond Coal” campaign claims credit for closure of
two-thirds of U.S. coal-fired generators.
·
Administration criticized for restricting wind and
solar expansion.
·
Global coal demand hit record highs, led by China,
which is also investing heavily in renewables and plans to cut emissions by
2035.
The
Trump administration on Monday outlined a coordinated plan to revive the mining
and burning of coal, the largest contributor to climate change worldwide.
Coal
use has been declining sharply in the United States since 2005, displaced in many
cases by cheaper and cleaner natural gas, wind and solar power.
But
in a series of steps aimed at improving the economics of coal, the Interior Department
said it would open 13.1 million acres of federal land for coal mining and reduce
the royalty rates that companies would need to pay to extract coal. The Energy Department
said it would offer $625 million to upgrade existing coal plants around the country,
which have been closing at a fast clip, in order to extend their life spans.
The
Environmental Protection Agency said it would repeal dozens of regulations set by
the Biden administration to curb carbon dioxide, mercury and other pollutants from
coal plants. The agency would also revise a regulation limiting wastewater pollution
from power plants that the industry considers costly.
In
what has become a familiar tableau, miners in hard hats stood as a backdrop as administration
officials gathered at the Interior Department and repeated a phrase that President
Trump said he now expects of any employee who discusses the black, combustible rock:
“Clean, beautiful coal.”
The
announcements came days after Mr. Trump told the United Nations General Assembly
that the United States would “stand ready to provide any country with abundant,
affordable energy supplies if you need them,” referring to liquefied natural gas,
oil and coal. Mr. Trump has promoted the coal industry ever since campaigning frequently
with coal miners 2016.
While
coal plants once generated nearly half of America’s electricity, they produced just
16 percent last year. Hundreds of coal plants have retired since the mid-2000s as
utilities switched to natural gas, wind and solar power. Stricter regulations on
air and water pollution have also made burning coal more expensive. Coal mining,
which has been linked to significant air pollution and water contamination as well
as black lung disease in coal miners, has also faced increased federal restrictions.
The
phrase “climate change” was not mentioned during the hourlong coal event. Instead,
the officials described coal as an economic necessity. “In addition to to drill, baby drill, we need to mine, baby, mine,” Mr. Burgum
said.
It
is unclear how much the Trump administration can revitalize the industry. During
Mr. Trump’s first term, roughly 100 coal plants shut down and the total number of
miners employed in the United States continued to fall.
The
outlook for coal power has become somewhat less bleak in recent years. Growing interest
in artificial intelligence and data centers has fueled a surge in electricity demand, and utilities have decided
to keep more than 50 coal-burning units open past their scheduled closure dates,
according to America’s Power, an industry trade group. As the Trump administration
moves to loosen pollution limits on coal power, more plants could stay open longer
or run more frequently.
The
Trump administration is also taking more drastic action to keep coal plants operating
this time around. In June, the Energy Department issued an emergency order to prevent
a coal plant in Michigan from closing as scheduled, although neither the grid operator
nor the local utility had asked the agency to do so. The cost of that extension
is expected to fall on consumers.
Mr.
Wright has hinted that more such orders could be on the way. All told, more than
100 plants have announced plans to retire by the end of Mr. Trump’s term.
“I
think this administration’s policy is going to be to stop the closure of coal plants,
most of them cooperatively working with utilities,” Mr. Wright said during an onstage
interview last week at The New York Times’s Climate Forward event.
At
Monday’s announcement, Wells Griffith, the under secretary
for energy, said that a recent Energy Department study found that America’s grid
faced a higher risk of blackout if too many coal plants retire. That study has
been criticized by a number of clean-energy groups and Democratic-led states for
being overly pessimistic about the ability of other fast-growing sources like wind,
solar, batteries and natural gas to help fortify the nation’s power system.
Holly
Bender, the chief program officer at the Sierra Club, an environmental group, said
the administration’s actions would increase air and water pollution and raise electricity
bills. “The Trump administration’s reckless actions announced today will hurt the
American people, all to prop up the aging and outdated coal industry,” she said.
The
Sierra Club in 2009 launched what would become a more than $150 million campaign
called “Beyond Coal” that lobbies for the retirement of coal-fired power plants.
Funded by Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York City, the
campaign this year claimed its actions had contributed to the closure of two-thirds
of coal-fired generators in the United States.
While
it champions fossil fuels, the administration has taken steps to restrict the
use of wind and solar power nationwide, criticizing those sources as unreliable
and too dependent on the weather.
Coal
power has been growing around the world in China and other countries. Last year,
global coal demand reached a record high, according to the International Energy
Agency, although the agency says it still expects coal demand to plateau in the
coming years.
Mr.
Burgum cited that trend as a reason for the United States to invest in coal. “China
is absolutely the number one user of coal and they are aggressively adding more
power,” he said. “Our nation can lead in technology but if we don’t lead in electrical
production, we’re going to lose the A.I. arms race.”
Even
as it burns more coal, China has also led the world in building wind and solar power.
Last week the country announced for the first time plans to start reducing its planet-warming
greenhouse gas emissions by 2035.