On April 8, a trio of new Executive Orders was issued aiming to increase coal production and use, while reducing air emissions regulatory burdens for coal-fired power generation. An additional EO prohibits large existing generating stations from shutting down or converting to a different fuel that results in more variable or reduced power output.
The EO Protecting American Energy From State Overreach requires
” Sec. 2. State Laws and Causes of Action. (a) The Attorney General, in consultation with the heads of appropriate executive departments and agencies, [to] identify all State and local laws, regulations, causes of action, policies, and practices (collectively, State laws) burdening the identification, development, siting, production, or use of domestic energy resources that are or may be unconstitutional, preempted by Federal law, or otherwise unenforceable. The Attorney General shall prioritize the identification of any such State laws purporting to address ‘climate change’ or involving ‘environmental, social, and governance’ initiatives, ‘environmental justice,’ carbon or ‘greenhouse gas’ emissions, and funds to collect carbon penalties or carbon taxes.
(b) The Attorney General shall expeditiously take all appropriate action to stop the enforcement of State laws and continuation of civil actions identified in subsection (a) of this section that the Attorney General determines to be illegal.”
The EO Reinvigorating America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Industry and Amending Executive Order 14241 requires
“The Chair of the National Energy Dominance Council (NEDC) [to] designate coal as a ‘mineral’ as defined in section 2 of Executive Order 14241 of March 20, 2025 (Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production), thereby entitling coal to all the benefits of a ‘mineral’ under that order…”
It also expands access/reduces barriers to coal on federal lands – “prioritiz[ing] coal leasing and related activities, consistent with applicable law, as the primary land use for the public lands with coal resources identified”.
But wait, there’s more…
“(a) Within 30 days of the date of this order, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of the Treasury shall identify any guidance, regulations, programs, and policies within their respective executive department or agency that seek to transition the Nation away from coal production and electricity generation.
(b) Within 60 days of the date of this order, the heads of all relevant executive departments and agencies (agencies) shall consider revising or rescinding Federal actions identified in subsection (a) of this section consistent with applicable law…
Agencies that are empowered to make loans, loan guarantees, grants, equity investments, or to conclude offtake agreements, both domestically and abroad, shall, to the extent permitted by law, take steps to rescind any policies or regulations seeking to or that actually discourage investment in coal production and coal-fired electricity generation, such as the 2021 U.S. Treasury Fossil Fuel Energy Guidance for Multilateral Development Banks rescinded by the Department of the Treasury and similar policies or regulations.”
And this – targeting power generation for AI data centers:
“Within 60 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of Energy shall identify regions where coal-powered infrastructure is available and suitable for supporting AI data centers; assess the market, legal, and technological potential for expanding coal-based infrastructure to power data centers to meet the electricity needs of AI and high-performance computing operations; and submit a consolidated summary report with their findings and proposals to the Chair of the NEDC, the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and the Special Advisor for AI and Crypto.”
This could set up an interesting dynamic for tech companies planning on low carbon power sources for data centers – especially if coal power becomes more cost effective (with lower up front investment) than other sources.
See the next blog for discussions about the other two EOs.
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