A drone view shows coal being prepared for transport, along the Kanawha river outside of Charleston, West Virginia, March 19, 2025.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
The U.S. is set to announce on Monday policies to try to boost the output of coal, the Interior Department said, as the Trump administration seeks to reverse the decline of the fuel’s use. President Donald Trump in April signed executive orders to increase coal output, in one of his many actions that run counter to global efforts to cut carbon emissions.
Coal-burning plants generated about 15% of U.S. electricity in 2024, a fall from 50% in 2000, according to the Energy Information Administration, as fracking and other drilling methods have hiked natural gas output. Solar and wind power growth has also cut coal use.
The coal workforce has sunk to about 40,000 from 70,000 10 years ago.
Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, and an Energy Department official are scheduled to hold an event on coal at the Interior Department later on Monday. Chris Wright, the U.S. energy secretary, told Reuters last week he expects most of the nation’s coal-fired power plants to delay retirement to help deliver electricity needed to fuel artificial intelligence. Last month, Wright extended his emergency order to keep a Michigan coal plant running, even though the plant’s operator had been planning to shut permanently for economic reasons.
Tom Pyle, president of the American Energy Alliance, predicted that 38 coal plants scheduled to close through 2028 would remain open, either on Trump orders or voluntarily.
Analysts, however, have been skeptical about a long-term U.S. boost in the use of coal as the economics have shifted in favor of less carbon-intensive fuel.
“Coal may see a temporary boost from regulatory relief, and some investors may profit in the short term,” Frank Holmes, CEO and chief investment officer of U.S. Global Investors, wrote after Trump’s orders. “But in the long run, I think the writing is on the wall.”