The U.S. Department of Energy moved to reestablish the National Coal Council, a committee of private sector leaders and experts tasked with providing advice to the Secretary of Energy on coal policy, technology and markets.
Originally formed in 1984, the National Coal Council ceased operations in 2021 when its charter expired under the Biden administration. America’s Power President and CEO Michelle Bloodworth issued the following statement in response to the Department of Energy reestablishing the National Coal Council:
“The reestablishment of the National Coal Council is a welcome and very important step towards maximizing coal’s critical role in our electricity mix and addressing our country’s increasingly unreliable electricity grid as directed by President Donald Trump in his Executive Order (EO) 14156, “Declaring a National Energy Emergency.”
“For thirty-seven years, the National Coal Council played a critical role in enhancing public-private cooperation around coal electricity and the broader needs of our national power grid. By allowing its charter to expire, the Biden administration deprived the Department of Energy of a critical forum for discussion and collaboration to disastrous effect, as demonstrated by the current rush to delay and reverse planned coal plant retirements.
“By reestablishing the National Coal Council, the Trump administration is restoring a common sense, ‘all-of-the-above’ approach to electricity generation that seeks to leverage all of our natural energy resources without picking winners and losers. This decision is in alignment with other recent actions made by the Trump administration, including the EPA’s recent move to repeal the agency’s Carbon Rule, which reflect coal’s unique dependability and its importance to meeting soaring electricity demand.
“We are grateful to President Trump for reversing actions taken by the Biden administration to marginalize coal despite its critical importance to ensuring the reliability and affordability of our electricity supply. We look forward to continuing to support the administration’s work to restore American energy dominance.”