Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the administration is aiming to keep the entire coal fleet online and is shaping federal policy around that objective, Bloomberg reported. He said officials are treating full operational capacity as the benchmark for decisions affecting coal power.
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Administration officials said the push is necessary to meet rising power demand while securing the country’s industrial and manufacturing base. They tied coal generation to grid reliability at a moment when data centers, artificial intelligence infrastructure, and heavy manufacturing are straining electricity supplies.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said federal emergency orders have already kept large portions of the coal fleet online.
“Seventeen gigawatts of coal generation are open today that would not have been open,” said Wright, as reported by Bloomberg. “You will not see those coal plants close during this administration.”
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Trump has already rolled back subsidies and rules that favored emissions-free power. His administration has ordered certain coal plants to continue operating and recently blocked Colorado’s attempt to force the closure of a coal facility in the central part of the state. The Interior Department has moved to open more federal land for coal leasing in North Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming.
The National Coal Council’s roughly 60 members include executives from major producers such as Peabody Energy, Warrior Met Coal, Hallador Energy, and Nacco Industries, along with utilities and cooperatives including FirstEnergy and Norfolk Southern. Joe Craft, a Trump donor, sits on the council. Jim Grech chairs the panel, with Jimmy Brock serving as vice chair.
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The Trump administration’s push for energy dominance builds on momentum established months earlier. A November 2025 report showed the U.S. set records for liquefied natural gas exports. Together with the current effort to keep coal plants running, the liquefied natural gas (LNG) milestone underscores a broader strategy focused on maximizing domestic energy production, grid reliability, and global market leverage.
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The Biden administration froze new LNG export permits and, as the Daily Caller News Foundation previously reported, released what critics said was a selective study aimed at downplaying the benefits of U.S. LNG.
Environmental groups praised Biden’s January 2024 halt on new export terminals, while opponents warned the move would deter investment, fail to deliver emissions cuts, and weaken the United States’ strategic position overseas.
Trump reversed the permit pause with a day-one executive order and pushed to expand LNG capacity.
* Original Article: