U.S. President Donald Trump is doubling down on coal energy. On Wednesday, in the presence of miners, he signed an executive order directing the Pentagon to purchase electricity from coal-fired power plants.
“Coal is critical to our national security. It is essential for everything from steel production to shipbuilding and artificial intelligence,” Trump emphasized during a meeting with representatives of the coal industry and miners at the White House.
“I am pleased to announce that I will shortly sign an executive order requiring the Department of War to work directly with coal-fired power plants under new energy procurement contracts. This will give us more reliable power and a stronger, more resilient energy grid,” Trump said.
“We will now be buying a lot of coal through the military. It will be much cheaper and far more effective than what we have been using for many years,” he added. Trump also argued that coal use would be “just as clean” thanks to technological advances.
He told those gathered that they had “never had a better friend in the Oval Office” than him.
During the meeting, Trump also announced steps aimed at “saving two large mines in Tennessee” from closure. He further revealed that he had instructed the Department of Energy to allocate funds to upgrade six coal-fired power plants in several states. The investments are expected to total $175 million.
He then signed the order authorizing the Pentagon’s coal-based energy purchases. Event participants presented him with an award titled “Undisputed Champion of Beautiful, Clean Coal” in recognition of “his contribution to strengthening the coal industry.”
The initiative comes amid rapidly growing electricity demand and rising power prices driven by the expansion of data centers underpinning artificial intelligence.