Trump signs executive orders to boost coal, a reliable but polluting energy source
President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a series of executive orders aimed at boosting the struggling coal industry, a reliable but polluting energy source that바카라 게임 웹사이트s long been in decline.
Under the four orders, Trump uses his emergency authority to allow some older coal-fired power plants set for retirement to keep producing electricity to meet rising U.S. power demand amid growth in data centers, artificial intelligence and electric cars.
Trump also directed federal agencies to identify coal resources on federal lands, lift barriers to coal mining and prioritize coal leasing on U.S. lands.
Trump, a Republican, has long promised to boost what he calls 바카라 게임 웹사이트beautiful바카라 게임 웹사이트 coal to fire power plants and for other uses, but the industry has been in decline for decades.
바카라 게임 웹사이트I call it beautiful, clean coal. I told my people, never use the word coal unless you put beautiful, clean before it,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Trump said at the White House signing ceremony where he was flanked by coal miners in hard hats. Several wore patches on their work jackets that said 바카라 게임 웹사이트coal.바카라 게임 웹사이트
바카라 게임 웹사이트Pound for pound, coal is the single most reliable, durable, secure and powerful form of energy,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Trump said. 바카라 게임 웹사이트It바카라 게임 웹사이트s cheap, incredibly efficient, high density, and it바카라 게임 웹사이트s almost indestructible."
Trump's orders also direct Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to 바카라 게임 웹사이트acknowledge the end바카라 게임 웹사이트 of an Obama-era moratorium that paused coal leasing on federal lands and require federal agencies to rescind policies transitioning the nation away from coal production. And they seek to promote coal and coal technology exports, and accelerate development of coal technologies.
Trump has long championed coal
Trump, who has pushed for U.S. 바카라 게임 웹사이트energy dominance바카라 게임 웹사이트 in the global market, has long suggested that coal can help meet surging electricity demand from manufacturing and the massive data centers needed for artificial intelligence.
바카라 게임 웹사이트We바카라 게임 웹사이트re ending Joe Biden바카라 게임 웹사이트s war on beautiful, clean coal once and for all,'' he said Tuesday. 바카라 게임 웹사이트All those plants that have been closed are going to be opened, if they바카라 게임 웹사이트re modern enough, (or) they바카라 게임 웹사이트ll be ripped down and brand new ones will be built. And we바카라 게임 웹사이트re going to put the miners back to work.바카라 게임 웹사이트
In 2018, during his first term, Trump directed then-Energy Secretary Rick Perry to take 바카라 게임 웹사이트immediate steps바카라 게임 웹사이트 to bolster struggling coal-fired and nuclear power plants, calling it a matter of national and economic security.
At that time, Trump also considered but didn't approve a plan to order grid operators to buy electricity from coal and nuclear plants to keep them open. Energy industry groups 바카라 게임 웹사이트 including oil, natural gas, solar and wind power 바카라 게임 웹사이트 condemned the proposal, saying it would raise energy prices and distort markets.
The national decline of coal
Energy experts say any bump for coal under Trump is likely to be temporary because natural gas is cheaper, and there바카라 게임 웹사이트s a durable market for renewable energy such as wind and solar power no matter who holds the White House.
Trump's administration has targeted regulations under the Biden administration that could hasten closures of heavily polluting coal power plants and the mines that supply them.
Coal once provided more than half of U.S. electricity production, but its share dropped to about 16% in 2023, down from about 45% as recently as 2010. Natural gas provides about 43% of U.S. electricity, with the remainder from nuclear energy and renewables such as wind, solar and hydropower.
The front line in what Republicans call the 바카라 게임 웹사이트war on coal바카라 게임 웹사이트 is in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming and Montana, a sparsely populated section of the Great Plains with the nation바카라 게임 웹사이트s largest coal mines. It바카라 게임 웹사이트s also home to a massive power plant in Colstrip, Montana, that emits more toxic air pollutants such as lead and arsenic than any other U.S. facility of its kind, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
EPA rules finalized last year could force the Colstrip Generating Station to shut down or spend an estimated $400 million to clean up its emissions within the next several years. Another Biden-era proposal, from the Interior Department, would end new leasing of taxpayer-owned coal reserves in the Powder River Basin.
Changes and promises under Trump
Trump vowed to reverse those actions and has named Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright to lead a new National Energy Dominance Council. The panel is tasked with driving up already record-setting domestic oil and gas production, as well as coal and other traditional energy sources.
The council has been granted sweeping authority over federal agencies involved in energy permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation and transportation. It has a mandate to cut bureaucratic red tape, enhance private sector investments and focus on innovation instead of 바카라 게임 웹사이트unnecessary regulation,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Trump said.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, meanwhile, has announced a series of actions to roll back environmental regulations, including rules on pollution from coal-fired power plants.
In all, Zeldin said he's moving to roll back 31 environmental rules, including a scientific finding that has long been the central basis for U.S. action against climate change.
Coal industry applauds, but environmental groups warn of problems
Industry groups praised Trump's focus on coal.
바카라 게임 웹사이트Despite countless warnings from the nation바카라 게임 웹사이트s grid operators and energy regulators that we are facing an electricity supply crisis, the last administration바카라 게임 웹사이트s energy policies were built on hostility to fossil fuels, directly targeting coal,'' said Rich Nolan, president and CEO of the National Mining Association.
Trump's executive actions 바카라 게임 웹사이트clearly prioritize how to responsibly keep the lights on, recognize the enormous strategic value of American-mined coal and embrace the economic opportunity that comes from American energy abundance,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Nolan said.
But environmental groups said Trump's actions were more of the same tactics he tried during his first term in an unsuccessful bid to revive coal.
바카라 게임 웹사이트What바카라 게임 웹사이트s next, a mandate that Americans must commute by horse and buggy?" asked Kit Kennedy, managing director for power at the Natural Resources Defense Council.
바카라 게임 웹사이트Coal plants are old and dirty, uncompetitive and unreliable," Kennedy said, accusing Trump and his administration of remaining 바카라 게임 웹사이트stuck in the past, trying to make utility customers pay more for yesterday바카라 게임 웹사이트s energy.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Instead, she said, the U.S. should do all it can to build the power grid of the future, including tax credits and other support for renewable energy such as wind and solar power.
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Associated Press writer Seung Min Kim contributed to this report.