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“Nothing Can Destroy Coal”

During his virtual address to the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, President Trump emphasized the role of coal in meeting increasing energy demand from AI and as a critical failsafe for other less dependable sources of electricity serving data centers. He further announced his intention to expedite the construction of new power plants to support the rising electricity needs associated with AI technologies.

After four years of compounding regulations designed to shutter America’s coal fleet, the President’s remark that “nothing can destroy coal…and we have more coal than anybody” signals an inflection point in our country’s approach to electricity policy and a generational opportunity to revitalize American industry.

Beyond his Davos speech, the Executive Orders issued by President Trump on January 20 show that he values domestic energy resources, including coal, and is concerned about maintaining a reliable grid. Two of these – specifically the orders on “Unleashing American Energy” and “Declaring a National Energy Emergency” – are directly relevant to the future of America’s coal fleet. Choosing to sign them on his first day in office signals that an ‘all of the above’ energy strategy will be a priority for this Administration.

This shift in policy could not have come at a more important moment. Electricity demand is expected to increase by 130,000 MW in just the next five years, but America has more than 120 coal-fired generating units scheduled to be shut down over the same period. These plants generate enough electricity to power fifty-five million homes or more than five hundred data centers, and many are being retired because bad policies have made them uneconomic.

At a recent forum held by the United States Energy Association, we argued that “coal is part of the solution in order to meet this electricity demand”, and that “we have 300 years of coal supply domestically in the United States” that should be used to power new technologies and the return of historic industries. President Trump appears to agree. We look forward to working with the new Administration to ensure that America can rely on baseload sources of electricity like coal to meet the growing electricity demands of the 21st century.