Coal — the dominant fuel in the U.S., before it was steadily replaced by cheaper and cleaner energy sources — has found new life under President Donald Trump. In April, Trump issued an executive order to reinvigorate “America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Industry,” which directed federal agencies to remove regulatory barriers to coal production and coal mining on federal lands.
Since then, the Energy Department has opened up federal financing opportunities for coal production (which include a $200 billion fund at the agency’s Loan Programs Office), designated coal as a critical material (which allows it to receive more federal funding), and reinstated a federal coal advisory committee that had lapsed.
The Interior Department, meanwhile, has fast-tracked fossil fuel and coal projects on federal lands. Earlier this year, the agency officially ended a moratorium on federal coal leasing, and in August it approved a plan that will make 14.5 million tons of coal available for mining in Wyoming through 2037. The agency has also implemented rules making it harder to permit renewable energy projects on federal lands.
Congress has also made it easier for coal to succeed. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act reduced royalty rates for coal projects on federal lands and mandated that more federal acres be opened up to coal production. The bill also subsidizes foreign steelmaking by giving a tax break to the type of coal used in this production.
The change in coal’s fortune is remarkable given how it fared under the Biden administration. In addition to calling for coal plants across the U.S. to be shut down and replaced by renewables, former President Joe Biden also finalized strict air pollution regulations that would have increased costs and closed fossil-fueled power plants nationwide. The Trump administration began rescinding these regulations in June.
Just as Biden’s preference for renewables distorted markets and harmed consumers, so too does Trump’s bias toward coal. In May, the Energy Department ordered the Midcontinent Independent System Operator — which oversees most of the power grid from Minnesota to Louisiana — to keep a Michigan coal plant open through the summer to avoid rolling blackouts. The plant was scheduled to close that month.
In addition to not preventing outages, the order ended up costing the utility $29 million over five weeks, reports E&E News. Consumers Energy, which runs the plant, is seeking “cost recovery” from federal regulators, which would “allow the costs to be spread over millions of electricity customers,” per E&E.
The U.S. needs more energy generation and is facing a capacity shortfall that could lead to future blackouts and rate hikes. But this shortfall is largely a result of bad government policies, such as federal regulations that delay nuclear power, and politicians picking energy winners and losers. Trump risks repeating the mistakes of past presidents. Coal companies might benefit, but ratepayers, markets, and the environment will be left worse off.
