The race to power A-I data centers could be the spark to reignite coal as a fuel for electric power in the country. At least that seems to be the play President Donald Trump believes will happen in the industry. Trump wants to see coal in a more prominent role to fulfil the nation’s power needs by shoring up the nation’s electric power grid.
Flanked by coal miners, many from West Virginia, Trump signed a series of executive orders calling for the increased use of fossil fuels including coal, to power technology of the future. He believed the United States could lead the way in data center growth because of the vast resources.
One of Trump’s orders would delay plans to mothball a large number of coal fired and nuclear power plants in the United States which are due to be retired this year. The order directed the U.S. Department of Energy to examine the U.S. power grid and determine the needs to maintain reliability. The government may use the administration’s emergency authority to sustain coal and nuclear plants even though they may have become unprofitable.
“There’s about 42 plants around the country scheduled for closure this year. Given the sudden rise in electric demand around the country we may very well see those plants be ordered to stay open,” said West Virginia Coal Association President Chris Hamilton.
“I’ve signed an executive order insuring coal fired power plants are always available to meet the surging demand for electricity,” Trump told the White House gathering.
The President also told power developers and miners his administration would strengthen regulations to insure certainty for those investing in the future of coal.
“You’re going to have no reason to be concerned about your future, your life, or your investment if you’re a miner,” said the President.
“Should somebody come into this very important office and say, well, you spent hundreds of millions of dollars and you’ve given up your life because you want to be in coal and all of a sudden you don’t have a life anymore. That’s not going to happen. We’re going to give a guarantee somebody can’t just come in and close it on a whim, they’re going to have to go through hell to close you up,” he said.
A second order from the President would authorize the leasing of mining rights on federal lands and to designate coal a “critical mineral”. He also authorized the Justice Department to pursue states with anti-coal policies and to work to reverse those policies on Constitutional grounds.
“I’m instructing the Department of Justice to identify and fight every single unconstitutional state or local regulation that is putting our coal miners out of business. We are withdrawing all of the objections from our government today,” Trump added.
The Trump Administration’s attitude toward coal is an about face from what the industry dealt with under President Biden.
“What a difference a few months and one man can make,” Hamilton said.
But it’s still unknown if the President’s favorable headwinds for the industry will be enough to overcome the competition from low cost natural gas and alternative forms of energy like solar and wind which enjoyed favorable status under the Biden and previously the Obama Administrations. Hamilton is optimistic.
“We’re asked every day why we aren’t building coal plants or putting in coke plants where we have these high reserves of metallurgical coal. We’re working toward that end,” he said.
“The value of untapped coal in our country is 100 times greater than the value of all the gold in Fort Knox. We’re going to unleash it and make America rich and powerful again,” said Trump.
Reinvigorating the coal industry both for power generation and steel production is a promise from the President during his 2024 campaign. Powering data centers with power generated from fossil fuels aligns with the commitment.
The West Virginia Legislature is working on critical bills which would allow for the creation of microgrids to power data centers which might want to locate in West Virginia. Hamilton politely declined an invite to the White House to be part of Trump’s signing event Tuesday to stay in Charleston and continue to watch over and shepherd the microgrid legislation in the final days of the regular session. But on hand were U.S. Senators Jim Justice, Shelley Moore Capito, and Governor Patrick Morrisey.
The President had signaled in recent weeks his desire to bolster the industry as a national security issue. Hamilton said it made sense because coal remained the most reliable and cost effective answer to meet the power needs of the country going forward. He believed it was an
opportunity for West Virginia’s leadership to jump start the chances of building new coal fired power plants for the future.
Environmental activists blasted the idea.
“What’s next, a mandate that Americans must commute by horse and buggy?” Kit Kennedy, a managing director at the Natural Resources Defense Council told Bloomberg News.
“Coal plants are old and dirty, uncompetitive and unreliable,” Kennedy added to Bloomberg. “A cleaner electric grid can also be more nimble and more reliable than one based primarily on fossil fuels.”
It’s also unclear if data center developers will be willing to use coal generated power. Previously many have been strong advocates of alternative energy to power the electricity hungry facilities. But, Trump argued those alternative sources of power are well short of the necessary capacity which coal brings to the power generation equation. He also noted previous administrations have implemented what he called a “war on coal.”
Trump’s order directed the U.S. Department of the Interior to determine the nation’s coal reserves and open up lease agreements to tap those veins of coal on federal property. The order will require agencies to rescind policies which sought to transition the nation away from coal production or to create barriers to the burning of coal for power generation.
The U.S. EPA is being directed to examine environmental restrictions on coal fired power plants. They agency may waive rules for some of those plants to keep them generating power into the foreseeable future.
Lisa Di Bartolomeo, organizer of West Virginia Beyond Coal Campaign issued a statement in response to Trump’s action.
“Again and again politicians fly through coal country with false promises about revitalizing industry, when what they mean is milking the last bit of profits out of Appalachia for the benefit of executives and shareholders. Standards that keep our air, water, and working conditions safe: gutted. Cheaper alternatives to producing electricity: boxed out of the market. Unions to defend good paying jobs: undermined at every turn. ‘Coal’ is corporate profit, not West Virginia. West Virginians are more than just coal, and we deserve better.”