Trump to endorse coal for data center power in the face of grim market realities

President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order on Tuesday aimed at boosting coal’s flagging fortunes, reports Bloomberg. The order will direct the federal government to list coal as a critical mineral and force some coal-fired power plants that had faced closure to keep generating electricity. The Trump Administration is expected to couch the directive as part of an effort to ramp up electricity production as demand from data centers surges. While the executive order might forestall some closures, it’s unlikely to reverse coal’s persistent decline in the power sector. Coal’s share has declined steadily since 2001, when it generated 51% of the country’s electricity, and gross consumption peaked in 2007. Today, coal’s share of generation is about 15%. Clean air regulations have caused some power plant closures, but the major driver has been low-cost natural gas. Cheap renewable sources like wind and solar have played a part as well. Coal is the dirtiest way to generate elec ... Read full article.