Apr 10, 2025 By Karen Mansfield 4 min read

Courtesy of Core Natural Resources

Executives and coal miners from Core Natural Resources were among those in the White House on Tuesday when President Donald Trump signed executive orders to boost coal production.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a series of executive orders that aim to boost domestic coal production, citing the need to meet rising demand from artificial intelligence.

“We will rapidly expedite leases for coal mining on federal lands and we’ll streamline permitting, we will end the government bias against coal, and we’re going to unlock the sweeping authorities of the Defense Production Act to turbo charge coal mining in America,” Trump said at a signing ceremony at the White House.

Trump vowed to support what he calls “beautiful, clean coal for fire power plants and for other uses, though the industry has been in decline for years.

Matt Mackowiak, Director of Government Affairs at Core Natural Resources, based in Canonsburg, was in the East Room of the White House for the signing ceremony. Arch Resources and Consol Energy merged to form Core in January.

“These executive orders reinforce the need to preserve our nation’s coal fleet, as coal remains a vital source for the future,” Mackowiak said in an emailed statement. “Core Natural Resources executives and miners were proud to stand with the president on this important day. Clearly, the administration understands the perils of moving too quickly toward an energy transition that will have many unintended consequences.”

Under the four orders, Trump uses his emergency authority to allow some older coal-fired power plants set for retirement to keep producing electricity to meet rising U.S. power demand amid growth in data centers, artificial intelligence and electric cars.

“The president clearly demonstrates his understanding for the electricity crisis that currently faces our nation,” said Mackowiak.

Trump also directed federal agencies to identify coal resources on federal lands, lift barriers to coal mining and prioritize coal leasing on U.S. lands.

In a related action, Trump also signed a proclamation offering coal-fired power plants a two-year exemption from federal requirements to reduce emissions of toxic chemicals such as mercury, arsenic and benzene.

Trump has long promised to boost what he calls “beautiful” coal to fire power plants and for other uses, but the industry has been in decline for decades.

“I call it beautiful, clean coal,” Trump said at the signing ceremony.

“Pound for pound, coal is the single most reliable, durable, secure and powerful form of energy. It’s cheap, incredibly efficient, high density, and it’s almost indestructible.”

But environmental groups said Trump’s actions were more of the same tactics he tried during his first term in an unsuccessful bid to revive coal.

Coal once provided more than half of U.S. electricity production, but its share dropped to about 16% in 2023, down from about 45% as recently as 2010. Natural gas provides about 43% of U.S. electricity, with the remainder from nuclear energy and renewables such as wind, solar and hydropower.

“The Trump administration made similar promises during his first term but instead oversaw the retirement of nearly 100 coal plants during the four years he was in office. That number has only grown as more cheap, clean renewable energy comes online,” said the Washington, Pa.-based Center for Coalfield Justice in a statement released in response to the executive orders, noting the western Pennsylvania region has lost more than 33,000 coal jobs since 2011.

Sarah Martik, CCJ’s Executive Director, disputes Trump’s claim that coal is “clean,” and said his executive orders “won’t change the reality that the energy landscape is changing rapidly, but (the orders) may delay the inevitable just long enough to enrich his tech-bro friends by funneling coal into AI data centers with less oversight at the expense of communities like ours.”

Trump said increasing coal production is necessary to secure America’s economic prosperity and national security, lower the cost of living, and provide for increases in electrical demand.

Said Mackowiak, “We are ready to help continue meeting the energy needs of Americans and the AI and steel industries in particular.”