Trump's Coal Revival Plan for AI: A Controversial Energy Strategy

Donald Trump Wants to Save the Coal Industry. He's Too Late

An executive order intended to give coal a boost ignores the reality not only of where energy markets are going, but where they are today. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump held a press conference to announce the signing of executive orders intended to shape American energy policy in favor of one particular source: coal, the most carbon-intense fossil fuel. "I call it beautiful, clean coal," President Trump said while flanked by a crowd of miners at the White House. The crowd chuckled knowingly at the now-familiar phrase. "I tell my people never use the word coal, unless you put 'beautiful, clean' before it." Trump has talked about saving coal, and coal jobs, for as long as he's been in politics. This time, he's got a convenient vehicle for his policies: the growth of AI and data centers, which could potentially supercharge American energy demand over the coming years. One of the executive orders signed Tuesday includes instructions to designate coal as a "critical mineral," expedite coal leasing on federal land, and identify opportunities for expanding coal-fired power to support data centers. Using coal to drive AI "would be one of the great technology ironies of all time: Let's go to a 1700s technology in order to power 21st-century technology," says Seth Feaster, an energy data analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. "It really is a vast oversimplification of how power markets, power production, and the grid works in the US." In Tuesday's presser, Trump, trodding familiar territory, targeted Democrats for the destruction of coal jobs as part of a "Green New Scam," laying the blame on both Joe Biden and Barack Obama. In truth, though, coal retirement isn't a function of who's in the White House. More coal-fired power came offline under Trump's first presidency than under either of Obama's terms. Unfortunately for Trump, the US coal industry suffers from some truly unavoidable economic realities. The last large coal-fired power plant built in the US came online in 2013; coal plants in the US are, on average, 45 years old. This aging fleet also has higher maintenance and upkeep costs for equipment than competing types of power. The fracking revolution in the 2010s -- as well as the increasing availability of cheap renewables -- has also made coal-fired power increasingly expensive. In 2023, just 16 percent of the US's power generation was from coal, down from 51 percent in 2001. With the executive order, Trump is "putting the thumb on one energy source in particular that happens to be one of the highest-cost energy sources," says John Moore, a director at the National Resource Defense Council. "There are much cheaper and cleaner options." While coal's downward turn in the US has been predictable, something has changed since the last time Trump was in office: AI. After remaining flat for several decades, various industry forecasts now predict skyrocketing demand for energy as companies talk a big game around plans for data centers. In September, Bloomberg Intelligence found that data center electricity use in the US could increase fourfold over the next five years, driven in large part by generative AI. Goldman Sachs, meanwhile, said in February that global energy demand from data centers could increase 165 percent by the end of the decade.

Trump says the future of AI is powered by coal

Tina Nguyen is a senior reporter for The Verge, covering the Trump administration, Elon Musk's takeover of the federal government, and the tech industry's embrace of the MAGA movement. The day before several major tech leaders appeared before Congress, begging for ways to get more energy for the nascent American artificial intelligence industry, Donald Trump signed an executive order offering a solution: increased coal production. As part of a series of executive orders released Tuesday designed to promote the rapid growth of the coal industry -- opening federal lands for mining, designating coal as a critical mineral, and using his emergency authorization powers to relax environmental regulations on coal -- Trump signed one explicitly aimed towards powering energy-hungry AI data centers using America's "beautiful clean coal resources", as Trump described it. The order directs the Commerce, Energy, and Interior Departments to conduct studies determining "where coal-powered infrastructure is available and suitable for supporting AI data centers", as well as whether it would be economically feasible. "You know, we need to do the AI, all of this new technology that's coming on line," Trump said on Tuesday during a signing ceremony for all four executive orders. "We need more than double the energy, the electricity, that we currently have." It's an inelegant and Trumpy solution to a real, looming problem that escalates with America's rapid adoption of AI technology: how to power all the data centers needed for computing demands. Wednesday's hearing at the House Energy and Commerce Committee only underscored how much AI would be integrated into everyday life, from national security to household tasks, and largely focused on the sheer amount of power that would have to be poured into supporting this infrastructure. And according to the witnesses, which included former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Micron Technology EVP Manish Bhatia, and Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang, the industry is in dire need of consistent, reliable energy. "[W]e need energy, and the numbers are profound," Schmidt said in his opening testimony. "We need energy in all forms. Renewable, nonrenewable, whatever. It needs to be there, and it needs to be there quickly." Indeed, a study from the Electric Power Research Institute, cited in the Committee's announcement of the hearing, projected that data centers could consume as much as 9.1 percent of all energy in the United States by the end of the decade. Bhatia cited a separate study in his testimony suggesting that due to this development, overall energy consumption would increase by 15 percent within the next five years -- a huge jump from the traditional 0.5 percent rise in energy consumption per year over the past several decades -- and warned that without an approach to energy that leaned on multiple fuel sources to keep costs low, "the US risks losing leadership in AI." But even though Trump has been a longtime booster of coal, dating back to his attempt to save coal plants from shuttering in 2018, the American coal industry has been on the decline over the past several decades as consumers move towards alternative forms of energy such as oil, natural gas, and green energy. Coal currently accounts for 15 percent of American energy supply -- a steep fall from 2011, when it provided nearly half of it -- and as the demand for coal decreased, so too did the capacity to turn it into energy. According to a New York Times report from February, only 400 coal plants are operational in the US today, down from 780 in 2000, and nearly half of those remaining are slated for retirement within the next several decades. However, nearly a third of those plants have either had their lives extended past their scheduled retirement, or saved from retirement altogether, thanks to a rapid increase in energy demands -- though experts warned the Times it's likely not enough to reverse coal's decline. At the same time, leaning on coal could pose an ethical conundrum for AI leaders, to say nothing of the tech industry, which has long promoted itself as a proponent of green energy. In particular, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has made a huge push for sustainable energy as a data center power source, investing in everything from solar to nuclear fusion to a carbon-capture startup offsetting current emissions, as a way to rapidly scale the supply of cheap energy. But with Trump locked in an international trade war that's already threatening the future of the tech industry, it's unclear whether they may have to indulge Trump's obsession with coal -- as he said during the signing ceremony, "Never use the word 'coal' unless you put 'beautiful, clean' before it" -- to remain in business.

Trump Order Seeks to Tap Coal Power in Quest to Dominate AI

President Donald Trump is moving to expand the mining and use of coal inside the US, a bid to power the boom in energy-hungry data centers while seeking to revive a declining US fossil fuel industry. In an executive order Trump is set to sign Tuesday afternoon, the president will direct a number of steps by the federal government meant to reinvigorate coal said a senior White House official. The actions including emphasizing the US is back in the business of selling coal mining rights on federal land and ordering the rock be designated as a critical mineral. Other steps include accelerating the export of US coal and related technologies.

Trump's coal comeback fuels US debate as AI, EV power demands rise

President Donald Trump signed four executive orders Tuesday to support and revive the U.S. coal industry. U.S. President Donald Trump signed four executive orders on Tuesday that aim to revive the coal industry, despite its long-standing decline. In a move framed as a response to increasing electricity demand from data centers and artificial intelligence, he called coal a "critical" mineral and promised to accelerate its production and use. Standing in front of a group of miners in hard hats, the president declared he would slash "unnecessary regulations that targeted the beautiful, clean coal." He said the government would rapidly speed up coal leasing on federal lands, streamline permits, and "end the government bias against coal."

Trump seeks to prop up coal to feed AI power demand

Why it matters: The White House is seeking to lean on coal-fired power -- which has been in a steady decline in the U.S. over the last 15 years -- to feed rising energy demand driven by artificial intelligence. What he's saying: "We're ending Joe Biden's war on beautiful, clean coal," Trump said flanked by coal miners in hard hats in the East Room of the White House. What's inside: Trump said he is invoking the Defense Production Act to back the industry. The big picture: The orders is a dramatic reversal from the Biden administration, which used the Cold War-era law in 2022 to boost production of electric heat pumps, transformers, solar panels and other products. Reality check: Reversing the long-term decline in U.S. coal demand will be a tall task. Zoom out: Energy Secretary Chris Wright touted coal as a way to meet AI electricity demand. The other side: Environmental groups panned the move as an outdated, polluting strategy that failed during his first administration. Between the lines: Congressional Republicans have sought to prioritize connecting new fossil fuel plants to the grid. Friction point: Mining companies believe they are in an "entirely new environment -- really uncharted territory -- when it comes to energy demand," Ashley Burke, a spokeswoman for the National Mining Association, told Axios.

Trump signs executive order to boost U.S. coal industry, in part to fuel artificial intelligence

A worker stands in the coal yard at the American Electric Power Co. coal-fired John E. Amos Power Plant in Winfield, W.Va., in 2018.Luke Sharrett / Bloomberg via Getty Images file President Donald Trump signed executive orders Tuesday to bolster the country's declining coal industry, relaxing restrictions on coal mining, leasing and exports in what the White House said was an effort to meet the energy-intensive needs of artificial intelligence data centers. The executive orders were the latest moves by the Trump administration that clash with global aims to reduce coal power and cut harmful greenhouse gas emissions that fuel climate change. Standing before dozens of coal miners in uniform shirts and hard hats, Trump introduced the orders, repeatedly referring to "beautiful, clean coal." Coal is considered the dirtiest fossil fuel and historically the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions. Burning fossil fuels, which unleashes carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, is the primary contributor to global warming. Trump's executive actions will keep open some coal plants that were slated for retirement, allow coal leasing on public lands to resume and will direct the U.S. Department of Energy and other agencies to assess how electricity from coal-fired power plants could meet rising demand for power from artificial intelligence. The orders come as the Environmental Protection Agency under its new administrator, Lee Zeldin, has been aggressively rolling back various environmental regulations over the past month, including ones that target pollution from power plants and emissions generated by oil and gas companies. The coal industry has been in decline in the U.S. for more than a decade. In 2023, coal generated about 16% of total electricity in the country, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration -- down sharply from roughly 45% in 2010. The rise of renewable energy sources, including solar and wind power, have also lessened the country's reliance on coal. The push to revive the coal industry also runs counter to most Americans' priorities, according to the latest public opinion research from Yale University. The national survey found that two-thirds of Americans support a transition away from fossil fuels like coal to entirely clean energy by 2050. The research also found even broader support for regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant, with 74% of those surveyed in favor of such regulations. Coal power produces more than twice as much carbon dioxide per kilowatt hour of electricity as gas power plants. Burning coal to generate electricity could also cost Americans three to four times more than clean energy, according to estimates from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Adding coal power would cost $89 per megawatt hour, compared to $31 for onshore wind or $23 for solar. In widespread job cuts last week across the Department of Health and Human Services, the Trump administration also eliminated several entire divisions focused on the safety of mining workers. Critics were quick to denounce Trump's executive orders, with former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy saying the action will exacerbate climate change and damage public health. "There is no such thing as clean coal," McCarthy, who also served as White House National Climate Advisor in the Biden administration, said in a statement. "Just as Trump's tariffs are hitting Americans' wallets, his administration is wasting taxpayer dollars to prop up an expensive, dangerous, and dirty industry when we have abundant, cheaper, better, and safer clean energy." The rise of artificial intelligence has spurred a hunt for new energy resources, with some in tech pushing money toward more sustainable sources including nuclear energy. But the demand for energy from AI is expected to test even the relatively big and robust U.S. system, with some calling for greater investment in an effort to keep up with international rivals, most notably China. Earlier this year, Goldman Sachs projected that the expansion of AI data centers will increase global power demand by 165% in the next five years.

Trump signs orders to expand coal power, invoking AI boom

These initiatives include legal actions against state regulations hindering coal, guarantees to protect coal investments, and support for coal technology development.President Donald Trump signed a raft of measures he boasted would expand the mining and use of coal inside the US, a bid to power the boom in energy-hungry data centers and revive a flagging US fossil fuel industry. Trump said he was "taking historic action to help American workers, miners, families and consumers," as he set in motion wide-ranging initiatives to promote electricity made from coal, including with legal strikes targeting state regulations and policies that deter the fossil fuel's use. "All those plants that have been closed are going to be opened if they're modern enough, or they'll be ripped down and brand new ones will be built," Trump said in front of executives, workers and lawmakers gathered at the White House on Tuesday. "We're going to put the miners back to work." Taken together, the measures represent a sweeping attempt to ensure coal remains part of the US electricity mix, despite its higher greenhouse gas emissions and frequently greater cost when compared to natural gas or solar power. The effort also underscores Trump's commitment to tapping America's coal resources as a source of both electricity to run data centers and heat to forge steel. The president and administration officials have made clear boosting coal-fired power is a priority, one they see as intertwined with national security and the US standing in a global competition to dominate the artificial intelligence industry. Even so, it's unclear whether the president's new initiatives will be enough to dramatically shift the domestic landscape for coal, which has declined for years in the face of competition from low-cost natural gas and renewable power as well as environmental regulations and climate change concerns. It's also not certain technology companies that have embraced emission-free nuclear and renewable energy will be eager to power their data centers with coal. Trump also said the US government would offer guarantees to help protect coal investments from political shifts in Washington. It was not immediately clear how Trump would provide that assurance. "We are going to give a guarantee that the business will not be terminated by the ups and downs of the world of politics," Trump said. Under an executive order, Trump directed Energy Secretary Chris Wright to aid the development of coal technologies, including more ways to put its byproducts to use in batteries, graphite and building materials. The order also mandates efforts to accelerate the export of US coal and related technologies; designate the fossil fuel as a critical mineral; and move to lower the royalty rates charged for extracting it from federal land. The president also moved to waive coal plants across the country from mandates to control mercury pollution and other pollutants, under an exemption process set in motion by the Environmental Protection Agency last month. Trump said he was granting the two-year waivers to 47 companies operating more than 60 coal plants across the country, effectively allowing them to comply with less-stringent requirements. Trump also signed a directive setting the stage for the federal government to potentially use emergency authority to keep unprofitable coal and nuclear plants operating. The president's order calls on the Energy Department to examine the nation's grids and use "all mechanisms available under applicable law" to keep critical electric generation resources operating within at-risk regions. Trump simultaneously launched a potentially wide-ranging legal broadside against state and local policies he cast as "unconstitutional" measures putting coal miners out of work. He requested Attorney General Pam Bondi move swiftly to stop the enforcement of state laws and other civil actions that get in the way of domestic energy resources and are deemed to be illegal. The order singles out state laws "purporting to address 'climate change,'" including carbon taxes and other measures taking aim at the greenhouse gases that drive global warming. Trump cast the moves as essential to helping the US dominate the AI sector, saying the country needed to ramp up electricity production. "We need more than double the energy, the electricity, we have," Trump said. Mining jobs have been in decline for years as the industry automated and as demand for the product diminished. "Today's executive order recognizes that the nation's coal fleet and its supply chain are essential to maintaining a healthy and secure electricity supply, which is the backbone of our economy," said Michelle Bloodworth, president of America's Power, a trade group representing coal miners and coal-fired utilities. Environmental advocates blasted the initiative, calling it a misguided attempt to keep the US reliant on a dirty, more expensive source of power, instead of driving American dominance in emission-free renewables. "What's next, a mandate that Americans must commute by horse and buggy?" said Kit Kennedy, a managing director at the Natural Resources Defense Council. "Coal plants are old and dirty, uncompetitive and unreliable," Kennedy said. "A cleaner electric grid can also be more nimble and more reliable than one based primarily on fossil fuels." Coal accounts for about 15% of power generation in the US today, down from more than half in 2000, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Since 2000, about 770 individual coal-fired units have shuttered, according to data from Global Energy Monitor, with more set to close.