Trump Administration Wants Coal Plants Running

The Trump administration says it intends to keep every U.S. coal plant operating, arguing that rising electricity demand and industrial growth leave no room for shutdowns.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the administration is aiming to keep the entire coal fleet online and is shaping federal policy around that objective, Bloomberg reported. He said officials are treating full operational capacity as the benchmark for decisions affecting coal power.

Burgum made the remarks at the first meeting of the reconstituted National Coal Council, an advisory body that lapsed under former President Joe Biden and has returned under President Donald Trump. Trump moved early in his second term to reverse course on energy policy, ordering regulatory rollbacks and emergency actions designed to prevent coal-fired power plants from shutting down.

Administration officials said the push is necessary to meet rising power demand while securing the country’s industrial and manufacturing base. They tied coal generation to grid reliability at a moment when data centers, artificial intelligence infrastructure, and heavy manufacturing are straining electricity supplies.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said federal emergency orders have already kept large portions of the coal fleet online.

“Seventeen gigawatts of coal generation are open today that would not have been open,” said Wright, as reported by Bloomberg. “You will not see those coal plants close during this administration.”

The White House energy strategy stands in contrast to analysts who expect natural gas and renewables to continue displacing coal over time. Yet the administration said affordability and reliability, not emissions targets, must drive policy as Republicans fight to hold the House and Senate in November.

Trump has already rolled back subsidies and rules that favored emissions-free power. His administration has ordered certain coal plants to continue operating and recently blocked Colorado’s attempt to force the closure of a coal facility in the central part of the state. The Interior Department has moved to open more federal land for coal leasing in North Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming.