US President Donald Trump has ordered the Pentagon to buy electricity from coal-fired plants, Al Jazeera reports. This is his latest attempt to boost demand for fossil fuels amid their declining cost competitiveness and concerns about climate change.
The president has ordered the US Department of Defense to enter into long-term purchase agreements with coal-fired plants and to prioritize the preservation and strategic use of coal-fired energy assets. The order did not specify how much power the Pentagon would purchase or under what financial terms.
Trump also announced that the U.S. Department of Energy would invest $175 million to modernize six coal-fired power plants in North Carolina, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia.
The U.S. Department of Energy has forced at least five power plants to extend their operations beyond their scheduled retirement dates since Trump's order.
Coal-fired electricity generation in the United States has been declining for decades amid growing competition from natural gas and renewable energy sources, including wind, hydroelectric and solar power. Production fell by more than half between 2008 and 2023, when output reached 578 million tons.
Fossil fuels accounted for about 16% of U.S. energy production in 2023, followed by natural gas and renewables at 43% and 21%, respectively.