Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Latest Breaking News
In reply to the discussion: Trump Says He's Authorizing Administration to Produce Coal Power [View all]progree
(11,912 posts)11. Some more. And a no paywall version
Last edited Tue Mar 18, 2025, 12:37 PM - Edit history (3)
No paywall at this finance.yahoo hosted article (it's the Bloomberg article in the OP)
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-says-authorizing-administration-produce-233002961.html
. . . Energy Secretary Chris Wright said earlier this month that the administration was working on a “market-based” plan to stem the closing of US coal-fired power plants. Coal accounts for about 15% of power generation in the US today, down from more than half in 2000, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
. . . An additional 120 coal-fired power plants are scheduled to shut down in the next five years in part because of environmental regulations that have made them uneconomic, according to the America’s Power trade group representing utilities and miners such as Peabody Energy Corp. and Core Natural Resources Inc.
. . . An additional 120 coal-fired power plants are scheduled to shut down in the next five years in part because of environmental regulations that have made them uneconomic, according to the America’s Power trade group representing utilities and miners such as Peabody Energy Corp. and Core Natural Resources Inc.
I have read several articles over the last several months that some utilities are delaying plans for closing their coal-fired plants because of the growth of electricity demand overall, particularly with AI data centers.
While it may be uneconomical to build NEW coal-fired power plants (compared to e.g. new natural gas-fired), keeping one running that has already been built is economical in some cases, depending on a utility's current power mix. . Otherwise they wouldn't still be running them. Relaxing environmental regulations, which tRump is pushing the EPA to do, will extend their economic lives.
Plenty of utilities are building new natural gas-fired power plants as well. Wind and solar is great, but is weather-dependent. That's not a problem for a utility adding its first wind and solar power plants, but becomes increasingly problematical (requiring more and more curtailments or selling power at a loss), as the percentage increases beyond certain levels, and battery backup in the quantity needed is very expensive and getting bad publicity from utility-scale battery storage plant fires like Moss Landing.
Some of the coal-fired plants are being shut down because of state mandates, not because of economics.
As for federal agencies that produce electric power - two that I know of are the Tennessee Valley Authority (which has four coal-fired plants with a combined capacity of 7,000 MW), and Bonneville Power Administration, which has stakes in some coal-fired plants.
Edit history
Please sign in to view edit histories.
33 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
RecommendedHighlight replies with 5 or more recommendations

A lot of coal plants don't exist anymore. The government , to my knowledge, doesn't own power plants.
Srkdqltr
Mar 17
#2
Utility companies have spent billions on converting their coal fire plants to gas and they aren't going back ...
Botany
Mar 18
#25
Columbus, Ohio used to be the # 1 producer of buggy whips in the world but not so much anymore the ....
Botany
Mar 18
#33
Even the fossil fuels industry was tired of Dump's coal fixation during his first term.
Eugene
Mar 17
#7
I remember fetching buckets of coal as a kid & how fucking dirty it was!
RedWhiteBlueIsRacist
Mar 17
#10
"directed the Environmental Protection Agency to boost fossil fuel production and distributioN"
Ray Bruns
Mar 18
#20
The concept of "clean coal" aside, the use of coal is no longer economically feasible.
Martin68
Mar 18
#24
As a kid in WV, I had to wipe the coal dust off the back porch swing every day.
nature-lover
Mar 18
#29