US President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to purchase more electricity from coal plants in order to power military installations, the latest effort by the White House to revive the dirtiest and most expensive fossil fuel. Trump signed the executive order on Wednesday, when he also announced that the Energy Department would award $175 million in government funding to upgrade six coal plants.
The announcements follow a string of moves by the administration to revive the fossil fuel under an “energy emergency,” including the Energy Department’s allocation of $625 million to help reinvigorate the struggling industry, and the Interior Department’s decision to open more federal land for coal leasing. The enthusiasm has spread beyond the White House: The nation’s largest public utility announced this week it would keep two large power plants open in Tennessee that had been slated for retirement within two years. Beyond reviving dormant coal plants, Trump is also easing the path for coal by dismantling federal policies that raised its costs (he is expected to announce today the end of the endangerment finding), while eliminating tax incentives for renewables.
