On Tuesday, President Donald Trump enacted four executive orders with the intent of revitalizing the U.S. coal industry. The measures outlined aim to protect coal-fired power plants and speed up coal mining leases on U.S. lands. However, in advocating for coal, Trump made several misleading claims about its safety and usage.
**Claim 1**: Trump referred to coal as “beautiful, clean coal” and instructed his staff to use those descriptors consistently. While coal production has seen improvements in environmental impact over the years, it still cannot be considered “clean.” The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) indicates that carbon dioxide emissions from the coal industry have decreased over the past three decades. Energy lobbyist Scott Segal supports this, noting that coal-fired electricity is cleaner than in the past when measuring emissions per electricity unit produced. Despite these improvements, experts, including those supported by the United Nations, emphasize the need for a significant reduction in global coal production to combat climate change. Coal-derived emissions, such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, continue to contribute to environmental issues like acid rain and smog, affecting public health. The U.S. has decreased its reliance on coal, shifting to natural gas, wind, solar, and other renewable sources for electricity, reducing coal’s share from over 50% to around 16% in 2023.
**Claim 2**: Trump asserts that coal is “cheap, incredibly efficient, high density, and almost indestructible.” Contrary to this, coal is currently one of the most costly sources for new power generation. The EIA estimates that any new coal plants would generate electricity at nearly $90 per megawatt hour. This cost deters the construction of new coal plants in the U.S. Comparatively, standalone solar power is priced at around $23 per megawatt hour for projects anticipated to connect to the grid by 2028, with government subsidies lowering the cost of renewable energy. Additionally, new natural gas plants are estimated to produce electricity at roughly $43 per megawatt hour. According to a study by Energy Innovation, almost all existing U.S. coal plants are less economical compared to potential local solar, wind, and battery storage. Immediate savings occur for consumers when coal plants are decommissioned in favor of cleaner energy, a fact noted by Energy Innovation. Operational data shows coal plants functioned at full power about 42.4% of the time in 2023, compared to the higher consistency of nuclear and geothermal plants.
**Claim 3**: Trump declared that the U.S.’s untapped coal reserves are vastly more valuable than the gold at Fort Knox, suggesting a 100-fold increase. While the U.S. does have substantial coal reserves, the valuation is not nearly as high as claimed. As per the U.S. Treasury, Fort Knox houses gold worth around $6.2 billion by book value, but with a market valuation of approximately $440.6 billion due to current trading prices. The EIA reports U.S. coal reserves consist of around 469.1 billion short tons, but only about 53% is mineable, valued at an estimated $598.3 billion. Even though this surpasses the Fort Knox gold, it is not close to being 100 times its worth.
**Claim 4**: Trump stated that there is a surge in the development of coal plants in Germany. This is an inaccurate statement. According to Germany’s economic ministry, 18 coal-fired power plants were closed in 2024, with no plans to establish new ones. Steps are in place to phase out coal power by 2038. Some plants were temporarily reactivated in 2022 and 2023 due to natural gas shortages stemming from geopolitical tensions but only as a temporary measure.