OAN Staff James Meyers
11:25 AM – Tuesday, March 18, 2025
President Donald Trump announced Monday evening he is “authorizing” his administration to produce coal power, citing China’s “tremendous economic advantage” over the U.S. due to the world power’s pro-coal policies.
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The announcement is a massive reversal to decades of American environmental policy.
The decision to increase coal production comes as the Trump administration has moved to reverse the Biden administration regulations to stop fossil fuel production, including coal power.
“After years of being held captive by Environmental Extremists, Lunatics, Radicals, and Thugs, allowing other Countries, in particular China, to gain tremendous Economic advantage over us by opening up hundreds of all Coal Fire Power Plants, I am authorizing my Administration to immediately begin producing Energy with BEAUTIFUL, CLEAN COAL,” Trump wrote.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, almost 16% of power generation in 2023 relied on coal production.
The U.S. has been getting away from coal-dependency since the early 2000s when it was discovered that the coal-burning process emits carbon dioxide into the air.
Since the discovery, Americans have turned to other alternatives and cheap natural gas for power, as federal regulations raised the operational cost of coal production.
The major announcement also comes as 120 coal-fired power plants are scheduled to be shut down over the next five years, due to environmental regulations.
The Trump administration has argued that putting the plants back in service will help lower energy costs and supply energy to data centers and artificial intelligence.
Most experts believe Trump made the latest move to compete with China.
Yet even as China’s annual Gross Domestic Product, in U.S. dollars, jumped from around $361 billion in 1990 to around $14.7 trillion in 2020, its coal consumption nearly quadrupled and carbon dioxide emissions more than tripled, according to Bloomberg.
West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey (R-W.Va.) called it “outstanding news.”
“West Virginia is America’s energy state, and we stand ready to work with Donald Trump to lead our nation’s energy resurgence,” he posted on X.
“President Trump digs coal, and West Virginia digs President Trump!”
Former Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry claimed in November 2021 that the United States would completely phase out coal power as an energy source by 2030.
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