Last week, President Trump issued an executive order designed to revive the use of coal at power plants. This is a practice that has been steadily decreasing over more than a decade.

But as fossil fuels face several important hurdles, energy experts said. The power produced by coal plants cannot usually compete with cheaper and cleaner alternatives. And many coal-burning plants are simply too old and require extensive and expensive upgrades to continue running.

“It’s extremely difficult to reverse this trend,” said Dan Reicher, deputy energy secretary for the Clinton administration and Google’s Ease of Life and Energy Director. “There are a variety of forces at work that don’t portray a very bright future for coal.”

Why has coal used decreased?

Coal plants, the US’s leading source of electricity, currently produce just 17% of the country’s electricity. The main reason is that another fossil fuel, natural gas, has become abundant and inexpensive due to the shale fracking boom that began in the early 2000s. The use of renewable energy sources like the wind and the sun is also growing significantly.

Natural gas currently provides around 38% of the US electricity, according to the Energy Information Agency. Renewable energy technologies such as solar, wind, and hydroelectric power generation produce about 25%, while nuclear energy produces about 20%.

Some areas, like New England, will soon close their last coal power plants. California, the country’s most populous state, effectively uses no coal to generate electricity.

Coal is also under pressure because burning it will release greenhouse gases that can cause climate change and pollutants that harm people and nature. To avoid those concerns, Trump said, He waives certain air pollution restrictions For many coal plants.

Where is coal still used?

In the Southeast and Midwest, many utilities continue to generate electricity from coal plants. Companies such as Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Duke Energy and the Tennessee Valley Department (the country’s largest government-run power provider) are one of the largest users of coal.

The state, which has a long history of coal mines, is still highly dependent on fuel. It includes West Virginia and Kentucky, which earned 85% of electricity from coal last year, according to the Energy Information Agency.

Trump oversaw the energy division Use emergency situations To operate unprofitable coal plants. The president said this is necessary to prevent blackouts. He tried a similar strategy in his first semester.

He also issued an order that eliminates regulations that “discriminate” coal production, opens new federal land for coal mining, and investigates whether coal combustion power plants can provide services to data centers used for artificial intelligence services such as chatbots.

Peabody, the largest coal producer in the United States, said in 2024 that the world used more coal than any other year in history.

“We believe that in order to support our country’s growing need for affordable and reliable energy, the US should stop resigning coal plants, use existing plants with higher utilization and reopen shuttered coal plants.”

Can the Trump administration revive coal?

Federal policies can play a role, but utilities, state legislators and regulators ultimately determine how much coal will burn at the power plant.

The Utility Trade Association’s Edison Electrical Institute, or EEI, said in a statement that the US needs more power sources but refused to support or oppose the use of coal.

“Electric demand is growing at the fastest pace in decades, and EEI member electric companies are using a diverse, domestic and balanced energy mix to meet this demand while keeping customer invoices as low as possible,” the Institute said.

Several large utilities, like Xcel Energy, are converting coal plants into solar farms to take advantage of the federal incentives created during the Biden administration. In Becker, Minnesota, for example, Xcel is building a large solar and battery installation to replace the Shelco coal power plant. The company is converting something else Coal plants in Colorado For natural gas.

Xcel spokesman Theo Keith said the utility is considering “understanding whether Trump’s orders could affect our business,” but in the meantime it will work to provide consumers with clean energy at a low cost.

Conservative lawmakers in some states, like Texas, have proposed legislation that requires more use of fossil fuels to ensure adequate power and meet the increased demand from data centers, electric vehicles and heat pumps. However, energy analysts expect that such measures will benefit natural gas, not coal, if they pass.

Environmental activists said efforts to revive coal were misguided. They point out that using more coal means that the use of more coal will result in higher electricity bills due to aging devices, increasing health problems and higher risk of power plant breakdowns.

“We’re turning decades of work here,” says Holly Bender, the Sierra Club’s Chief Program Officer, running a campaign called beyond coal to end its use of its fuel. “It’s clear that Trump is trying to put his fingers on the scale to keep coal open, but these are fragments of the infrastructure that are at the end of its useful life.”