Trump's new executive order plans to make coal great again

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to increase domestic energy production, specifically emphasising the revival of coal.

The 'Reinvigorating America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Industry' order aims to help modernise coal technologies, expand domestic critical mineral production and accelerate the commercialisation of mineral extraction technology.

According to Trump, coal is cost-effective, abundant and will be able to meet the increasing electricity demands created by data centres and AI.

The order will see the country mobilise efforts to identify coal resources and deposits on federal lands, as well as lift barriers that could hinder the mining thereof.

Plans will also be implemented to accelerate the development and deployment of clean coal technologies, including technologies that use coal and coal byproducts.

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Furthermore, any recommendations or regulations within government departments or agencies that aim to transition the US away from coal, will be reviewed and possibly rescinded.

Said Trump in a statement: "Our Nation’s beautiful clean coal resources will be critical to meeting the rise in electricity demand due to the resurgence of domestic manufacturing and the construction of artificial intelligence data processing centres. We must encourage and support our Nation’s coal industry to increase our energy supply, lower electricity costs, stabilize our grid, create high-paying jobs, support burgeoning industries, and assist our allies."

The Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of Energy will now begin working to identify regions with existing coal infrastructure that can be used to support the development of data centres and high-performance computing operations.

The US Department of Energy will reinstate the National Coal Council as a federal advisory committee, with members of the council representing coal producers, users, equipment suppliers, state and local officials, and other stakeholders across the coal value chain.

“The American people need more energy, and the Department of Energy is helping to meet this demand by unleashing supply of affordable, reliable, secure energy sources– including coal,” Secretary Wright said. “Coal is essential for generating 24/7 electricity generation that powers American homes and businesses, but misguided policies from previous administrations have stifled this critical American industry. With President Trump’s leadership, we are cutting the red tape and bringing back common sense.”

Energy security a priority

Together with the 'Reinvigorating America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Industry' executive order, President Trump signed two additional orders to promote and protect 'American energy dominance'.

The first order aims to prevent state and local governments regulating energy beyond their constitutional authorities and the second seeks to protect the integrity of the grid as increased domestic manufacturing and data centre activities boost power demand.

The orders share a common priority of ensuring domestic energy supplies, which the Trump administration deems essential to the country's national and economic security and its foreign policy.