Trump Orders Pentagon to Buy Power From Coal Plants and DOE to Spend $175M Extending Coal Fleet
President Trump signed an executive order directing the military — naming the Secretary of War in coordination with the Secretary of Energy — to approve long‑term power‑purchase agreements with coal‑fired plants to serve DoD installations and other mission‑critical facilities, saying “we're going to be buying a lot of coal” and calling coal essential to national security. Simultaneously the Department of Energy announced $175 million to extend the life of coal plants in West Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina and Kentucky (with the TVA citing the administration’s “energy dominance” strategy), while critics warn the moves will prop up an expensive, high‑CO2, and potentially unreliable resource just as coal supplies about 16% of U.S. electricity.
📌 Key Facts
- President Trump signed an executive order directing the Pentagon to procure electricity from coal-fired power plants and to work directly with those plants on new, long-term power‑purchase agreements for military and other mission‑critical installations.
- The formal text of the order includes the finding that "coal is essential to our national and economic security" and states the grid must not be "reliant on intermittent energy sources."
- The order names the Secretary of War, in coordination with the Secretary of Energy, to approve long‑term power purchase agreements with coal‑fired plants serving Department of War/military or other mission‑critical facilities.
- Trump publicly said at the White House, "we're going to be buying a lot of coal through the military now," framing coal as cheaper and more effective than other power sources and linking it to steel production, shipbuilding and artificial intelligence.
- The Department of Energy announced $175 million in new funding for projects to extend the life of coal-fired power plants in West Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina and Kentucky.
- The Tennessee Valley Authority tied its board’s vote to keep the Kingston and Cumberland coal plants open to the administration’s "energy dominance" strategy.
- Coal currently supplies about 16% of U.S. electricity, and industry group America’s Power says there are more than 40 coal plants within 100 miles of U.S. military installations; environmental and energy‑policy groups (including the Union of Concerned Scientists, the League of Conservation Voters and the Sierra Club) warn the order will raise electricity bills and prop up an expensive, unreliable, high‑CO2 resource.
- Fox News framed the move as part of a broader rollback of Obama‑era climate rules, noting Trump’s prior pledges to rescind the greenhouse‑gas endangerment finding and his criticisms of the Paris climate accord and wind power.
📊 Analysis & Commentary (1)
"A polemical critique arguing that Trump’s directive to have the Pentagon buy power from coal plants (and related DOE support) is political theater that misunderstands electricity markets, risks costly subsidies and stranded assets, and diverts attention from effective investments in grid resilience and clean energy that would better serve national security."
📰 Source Timeline (3)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Axios confirms Trump has already signed an executive order explicitly directing the Pentagon to procure electricity from coal-fired plants and work directly with them on new power-purchase agreements.
- The Department of Energy simultaneously announced $175 million in new funding for projects to extend the life of coal-fired power plants in West Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina and Kentucky.
- The Tennessee Valley Authority publicly linked its board’s vote to keep the Kingston and Cumberland coal plants open to the Trump administration’s 'energy dominance' strategy.
- Coal currently supplies about 16% of U.S. electricity, and industry group America’s Power says there are 40-plus coal plants within 100 miles of U.S. military installations.
- Environmental and energy-policy groups, including the Union of Concerned Scientists, the League of Conservation Voters and the Sierra Club, are on record warning that the order will raise already high electricity bills and prop up what they describe as an expensive, unreliable, high-CO2 resource.
- Fox article provides the full formal title and key policy language of the executive order, including the finding that 'coal is essential to our national and economic security' and that the grid must not be 'reliant on intermittent energy sources.'
- It specifies that the Secretary of War, in coordination with the Secretary of Energy, is ordered to approve long‑term power purchase agreements with coal‑fired plants serving DoW installations or other 'mission‑critical facilities.'
- Trump publicly states at the White House that 'we're going to be buying a lot of coal through the military now,' framing it as cheaper and more effective than other power sources and explicitly linking coal to steel production, shipbuilding and artificial intelligence.
- The piece contextualizes the order as part of a broader rollback of Obama‑era climate rules, including Trump’s pledge to rescind the greenhouse‑gas endangerment finding and his attacks on the Paris climate accord and wind power.