President Donald Trump signed a number of executive orders to increase domestic coal production, stressing the need to meet artificial intelligence's growing demand for electricity.
Due to their carbon dioxide emissions and declining market share to natural gas, coal facilities are closing all over the US.
When combined, the actions show a broad effort to guarantee coal's continued presence in the US electrical mix, even though it produces more greenhouse gas emissions and is often more expensive than solar or natural gas.
The endeavor also demonstrates Trump's resolve to use America's coal reserves for heat to forge steel and electricity to power data centers.
Increasing coal-fired power is a top objective for the president and administration officials, who see it as linked to both national security and the US's position in the worldwide race to control the artificial intelligence market.
Trump gave Energy Secretary Chris Wright an executive order to support the advancement of coal technologies, including expanding the use of coal byproducts in building materials, batteries, and graphite.
Additionally, the order requires actions to cut the royalty rates charged for extracting US coal from federal land, identify the fossil fuel as a key resource, and expedite the export of US coal and related technologies.
Under an exemption procedure started by the EPA last month, the president also proposed to exclude coal plants nationwide from regulations aimed at reducing mercury and other pollutants. According to Trump, 47 businesses that run more than 60 coal plants nationwide would receive the two-year exceptions, which will essentially let them adhere to less onerous regulations.
Additionally, Trump signed a directive that lays the groundwork for the federal government to perhaps exercise emergency authorities to continue operating nuclear and coal plants that are not profitable.
At the same time, Trump started a potentially extensive legal blitz against municipal and state regulations that he claimed were "unconstitutional" and were causing coal workers to lose their jobs.
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Trump claimed that the actions were necessary to assist the US take the lead in the AI industry and that the nation needed to increase its output of electricity.