As part of his pledge to “unleash American energy,” President Donald Trump is leading a resurgence in the country’s coal industry, finally addressing longstanding concerns about grid reliability and ending the regulatory war on what was once the nation’s most important energy source.

Trump recently signed a highly anticipated executive order on “reinvigorating America’s beautiful clean coal industry” that is expected to provide major relief for coal power plants and stop dozens of planned plant closures. Along with revoking a bevy of Biden-era rules, Trump’s order states that coal is “essential to our national and economic security” and that it is “a national priority to support the domestic coal industry by removing Federal regulatory barriers that undermine coal production.”

Emphasizing the significance of this move, Trump wrote in a Truth Social post, “I am authorizing my Administration to begin producing Energy with BEAUTIFUL, CLEAN COAL immediately.”

Trump hosted a group of coal miners at the White House when he signed the order, even inviting some of them to speak. One of them, Jeff Crowe from West Virginia, thanked Trump for signing the order and working to end the stigma on coal energy production.

“For too long, coal has been a dirty word that most were afraid to speak about,” Crowe said. “But we are still strong. We are still here, and we are still needed in order to make America great again.”

As Crowe alluded to, previous administrations, influenced by left-wing climate groups, have devastated the coal industry through legal and regulatory attacks.

While coal provided nearly 50 percent of all electricity production in 2001, that figure is now down to around 15 percent. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), between 2000 and 2021, roughly 760 individual coal generators were retired. Under the Biden administration, a quarter of the country’s existing coal-fired fleet was also scheduled to be retired by 2029.

While other factors like new fracking technology have hurt the coal industry, liberal government policies have also decimated the sector – particularly under the Biden administration. In 2023, coal was the only segment of the energy industry that saw declining employment.

Since taking office, Trump has focused on eliminating these regulations that triggered the destruction of the sector and withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement, a pact that intensified the war on coal. As Trump has frequently noted, the decline of coal power production has gone hand-in-hand with rising reliability concerns, particularly as electricity demand skyrockets due to electric vehicles, artificial intelligence, and other emerging energy-intensive industries.

While environmentalists tout renewables as the solution, incidents such as the Texas blackouts in 2021 that caused at least 246 deaths highlight the tragic consequences of embracing fantasies of a “green revolution.” As conservative philosopher Roger Scruton once told me in an interview back in 2011, “even if climate change theory has merit, it should prioritize preserving and enriching human life rather than sacrificing it.”

As Trump’s order acknowledges, the U.S. is unlikely to be able to meet growing energy demand in the next decade without an “all of the above” approach to production that the president has advocated – including keeping existing coal plants online. According to a December 2022 report from Grid Strategies, the five-year load growth forecast (or how much more energy experts predict the country will need five years from now) has increased nearly fivefold since 2022.

That same month, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation issued a stark warning about mounting reliability concerns – specifically noting the closure of old power plants, including coal-fired power plants, without enough new plants coming online to replace that power generation capacity. Electricity demand from data centers and manufacturing are expected to increase dramatically, rising from 23 GW in 2022 to 128 GW by 2029.

Retired Professor of Geology Jean-Marie Lachapelle, who has advised major mining companies such as BP Minerals America, told me in an interview that “President Trump’s assistance to the coal industry will benefit Americans on many levels.”

“Increasing competition in the energy sector by strengthening coal producers could further reduce energy prices,” Lachapelle said. “This will help create jobs especially in the key coal mining regions.” However, he added, “mining is a long-term investment, where the greatest growth becomes apparent only later on. It takes commitment and patience.”

New technologies are also mitigating concerns about air pollution from coal power plants – something you won’t hear much about from climate activists. One research group called FutureCoal is working on new combustion technologies that could dramatically reduce emissions and repurpose coal power plant waste into high-value products, including materials for electric vehicles.

Michelle Manook, that group’s CEO, welcomed President Trump’s commitment to “clean coal,” which, according to her, will help “humanize” the debate on coal and lead to more investment in new coal technologies. “We look forward to collaborating with the administration to build a prosperous, sustainable future that maximizes coal’s full potential,” Manook said.

President Trump’s decisive action marks a turning point in America’s energy future – restoring coal’s vital role in powering the nation while ensuring energy security, economic growth, and technological innovation. With bold leadership and a commitment to common-sense policy, the war on coal is finally coming to an end.

Ben Solis is the pen name of an international affairs journalist, historian, and researcher.