(April 8): President Donald Trump is moving to expand the mining and use of coal inside the US, a bid to power the boom in energy-hungry data centres while seeking to revive a declining US fossil fuel industry.

In an executive order Trump is set to sign on Tuesday afternoon, the president will direct a number of steps by the federal government meant to reinvigorate coal said a senior White House official. The actions including emphasising the US is back in the business of selling coal mining rights on federal land and ordering the rock be designated as a critical mineral. Other steps include accelerating the export of US coal and related technologies.

Yet it is unclear whether the new initiative will be enough to dramatically shift the domestic landscape for coal, which has declined in the face of competition from low-cost natural gas and renewable power, as well as environmental regulations and climate change concerns. It is also not certain technology companies that have embraced emission-free nuclear and renewable energy will be eager to power their data centres with coal.

Nevertheless, the executive order underscores Trump’s commitment to tapping America’s coal resources as a source of both electricity to run data centres and heat to forge steel. The president and top administration officials have made clear boosting coal-fired power is a top priority, one they see as intertwined with national security and the US standing in a global competition to dominate the artificial intelligence (AI) industry. 

The US is “way ahead right now in the AI race with China”, Trump told reporters on Monday during an event in the Oval Office. But, Trump added, the provision of electric power for data centres is critical to maintaining that advantage.

Trump vowed to revive coal while campaigning last year, following through on a political priority he also embraced his first term in the White House. The order comes as his administration weighs other steps to boost the fossil fuel, including tapping emergency authority to reopen shuttered coal-fired plants that have closed while preventing others from closing.

Trump is slated to sign the executive order during a 3pm event in the East Room of the White House, with attendees set to include executives from some of the US’s biggest mining companies, including Peabody Energy Corp, Core Natural Resources Inc and Ramaco Resources Inc. 

Trump has complained previous administrations waged war on coal, stifling its potential with environmental regulations on power plants as well as curbs on mining. In his order on Tuesday, Trump will take aim at one high-profile barrier, by directing the Interior Department to acknowledge the end of on-again, off-again leasing moratorium first initiated under former president Barack Obama. Trump will also direct government agencies to identify coal resources on federal lands and prioritise leasing there while lifting barriers to mining those deposits, the senior White House official said. 

The shift could encourage coal companies to expand existing their holdings on federal land, which have declined over the past three decades. Coal companies held just 279 federal leases spanning nearly 422,000 acres as of 2023, according to Interior Department data, down from 489 leases covering roughly 730,000 acres just 33 years earlier. 

Trump is also directing his new National Energy Dominance Council to designate coal as a critical mineral, putting it on a par with those needed for defence systems and batteries. An executive order signed by the president last month set the stage for such a move, authorising the use of emergency powers and funding to help boost domestic production and processing of critical minerals and rare earths.

Similarly, Trump will task Energy Secretary Chris Wright with determining whether coal used in steel production should win coveted "critical" status under federal law.

In his order, the president will require agencies to rescind policies that seek to transition the nation away from coal production or otherwise establish preferences against using the fossil fuel as a source of electricity. The electric sector is the second-largest source of greenhouse gases in the US, behind transportation, and coal produces twice as much as its nearest rival, natural gas, when burned to generate electricity. 

Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is already moving to revise a suite of regulations governing coal-fired power plants, including limits on mercury pollution as well as carbon dioxide. The EPA is also weighing exempting some power plants from specific air pollution controls. 

Coal accounts for about 15% of power generation in the US today, down from more than half in 2000, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Since 2000, about 770 individual coal-fired units have shuttered, according to data from Global Energy Monitor, with more set to close. 

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who heads Trump’s energy dominance council, has cast coal-fired power as affordable and reliable, saying that makes it key to meeting demand from data centres, new factories and increased electrification in transportation and heating. NextEnergy Inc has predicted US power demand will grow 55% over the next 20 years. 

Renewable power advocates have argued that Trump’s bid for US energy dominance demands a wider array of options, especially given challenges securing critical components needed to produce electricity from coal and natural gas. Northeast US states and grid managers in particular have been counting on supplies from offshore wind farms to help meet demand.

Trump, who last week ordered sweeping tariffs on US trading partners and is urging European allies to buy more American energy, sees coal as a valuable export too. Tuesday’s order will direct US authorities to promote the foreign sale of US coal as well as coal-related technology, including by pushing other countries to sign purchase agreements. 

Uploaded by Tham Yek Lee