Unsurprisingly, former President Donald Trump was scheduled to sign executive orders designed to bolster coal, an unequivocally polluting and antiquated energy resource. Typically adorning his bombastic promises with embellishments such as enabling old coal-fired power plants, unjustifiably proclaimed as ‘beautiful’, to remain operational, Trump was compelled to answer the increasing energy needs triggered by such advancements as AI and electric cars. Despite the brilliant facades Trump creates, it’s hardly a secret that the coal industry has been on a downhill trajectory for generations.
As part of the orders, federal offices will be required to locate coal resources on government land, eliminate any roadblocks to coal mining and prioritize coal leasing on American land. These orders will also force Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to swallow the bitter pill of acknowledging an Obama-era halt on coal leasing in federal lands has come to an end. Furthermore, federal agencies will be tasked with reversing policies that steer the country away from coal production.
Aiming to maximize Trump’s frenzied quest for ‘energy dominance’ globally, these steps seek to position coal as an antidote to surging electricity demand, perhaps driven by a misguided belief in its invincibility with phrases like, ‘Nothing can destroy coal. Not the weather, not a bomb — nothing, and we have more coal than anybody.’ Yet, industry insiders indicate that any coal advancements during Trump’s tenure could be fleeting, as natural gas and renewable energy markets are not only more cost-effective but also maintain a sustainable market, regardless of who anchors the White House.
These actions pursue the Sisyphean task of turning the clock backwards on the continuous decline of U.S. coal production. The Trump administration is pointedly vested in dismantling regulations established under the inexperience-laden Biden administration, especially those that could hasten the closure of pollution-heavy coal power plants and their connected mines.
Coal, once the standard-bearer of the U.S. electricity production, fell to a minuscule 16% by 2023, a precipitous drop from around 45% in 2010. Currently, natural gas provides about 43% of U.S. electricity, with the remainder coming from nuclear energy and renewables like wind, solar, and hydropower. These figures paint a stark picture of coal’s dwindling relevance.
The quintessential battlefield of what Republicans call the ‘war on coal’ is positioned in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming and Montana, a sparsely populated landscape with the nation’s largest coal mines. The region is also known for Colstrip, Montana’s one of a kind power plant, notorious for emitting more toxic air pollutants than any other facility of its kind in the U.S., as affirmed by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Under the Obama-era EPA regulations finalized last year, the Colstrip Generating Station could be coerced into an early retirement or compelled to spend an estimated $400 million to clean up its emissions over the ensuing years. Another misguided Biden-era proposition from the Interior Department seeks to halt new leasing of taxpayer-owned coal reserves in the Powder River Basin.
Trump, resilient in his pursuit to salvage coal, has sworn to undo these actions and assigned Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright to spearhead a new National Energy Dominance Council. This council holds a fearsome range of responsibilities, extending from energy permitting to generation, distribution, regulation, and transportation. In Trump’s mind, this behemoth will cut through bureaucratic excess, stimulate private sector investments, and center on innovation instead of unnecessary regulation.
The EPA Administrator, a staunch critic of stringent environmental policies, initiated a series of actions to scale back such regulations, notably those related to pollution emanating from coal-fired power plants. A convenient rhetoric of maintaining American energy as clean, affordable, and reliable permeates the administration’s dialogue as it works to roll back as many as 31 environmental rules.
The National Mining Association, along with several industry groups, unsurprisingly applauded Trump’s insatiable devotion to coal. In their view, former Trump has made an exemplary effort to leverage the strategic value of American-mined coal and championed an unabated march towards American energy abundance.
Of course, not everyone is sold on Trump’s backward-looking energy vision. Environmental groups have sounded alarm bells over the administration’s reckless path. ‘Coal plants are old and dirty, uncompetitive and unreliable,’ said Kit Kennedy of the Natural Resources Defense Council, reproachfully accusing the administration of clinging to outdated energy paradigms.
Kennedy pointed out the underlying flaw in the Trump administration’s approach: striving to inflate bills for utility consumers to pay for antiquated energy methods instead of investing in the technology of the future. Quite rightly, she argued that the nation should be aligning all its resources to build the power grid of the future and providing tax credits and other support for renewable energy.
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