President Donald Trump on Tuesday designed to boost the U.S. coal industry, outlining steps to protect coal-fired power plants and expedite leases for on U.S. land. But in touting the benefits of coal, he misrepresented several aspects of its safety and use.
Here鈥檚 a look at the facts.
CLAIM: 鈥淚 call it beautiful, clean coal. I told my people, never use the word coal unless you put beautiful, clean before it.鈥�
THE FACTS: The production of coal is cleaner now than it has been historically, but that doesn鈥檛 mean it鈥檚 clean.
Planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions from the coal industry have decreased over the past 30 years, . Energy lobbyist Scott Segal said that 鈥渢he relative statement that coal-fired electricity is cleaner than ever before is true, particularly when emissions are measured per unit of electricity produced.鈥�
And yet, coal production worldwide still needs to be reduced sharply to address climate change, .
Along with carbon dioxide, burning coal emits sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides that contribute to acid rain, smog and respiratory illnesses, according to the EIA.
Over the past 15 years, the U.S. has seen a major shift from coal to natural gas for electricity use, a key reason U.S. carbon emissions have declined over that period.
Coal once provided more than half of U.S. electricity production, but its share dropped to about 16% in 2023, down from about 45% as recently as 2010. Natural gas provides about 43% of U.S. electricity, with the remainder from nuclear energy and renewables such as wind, solar and hydropower.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright in January that the burning of fossil fuels 鈥� coal, oil and natural gas 鈥� causes climate change. That鈥檚 because the combustion of fossil fuels is drastically increasing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, warming the planet.
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TRUMP: 鈥淚t鈥檚 cheap, incredibly efficient, high density and it鈥檚 almost indestructible.鈥�
THE FACTS: Coal is one of the most expensive sources of new power generation. New coal plants would produce electricity at nearly $90 per megawatt hour on average, though no one in the U.S. is currently building or planning to build a new coal plant, according to estimates from the EIA.
Standalone solar without battery storage is the cheapest source of new power generation at about $23 per megawatt hour on average for new projects connecting to the grid in 2028, the EIA estimates. That includes tax credits and other subsidies under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which help reduce the cost of renewable energy.
New natural gas plants are expected to produce electricity at nearly $43 per megawatt hour, according to the estimates.
A nonpartisan climate policy think tank, Energy Innovation, found that 99% of existing U.S. coal plants are more expensive to keep running than if they鈥檙e replaced with local solar, wind, and battery storage. Americans immediately begin saving money when coal plants retire and communities transition to clean energy, according to .
鈥淭rump has promised to cut American energy bills in half 鈥� this is yet another way he鈥檚 forcing Americans to pay more,鈥� Greg Alvarez, a spokesperson with Energy Innovations, wrote in an email Tuesday.
Coal plants operated at full power about 42.4% of the time in 2023, according to EIA鈥檚 . In comparison, nuclear and geothermal plants , at about 93% and 69.4%, respectively.
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CLAIM: "The value of untapped coal in our country is 100 times greater than the value of all the gold at Fort Knox."
THE FACTS: Although the U.S. does have an abundance of coal, its estimated value is not nearly as high as Trump claims.
There are currently about 147.3 million troy ounces of gold stored at Fort Knox with a book value of approximately $6.2 billion, . Gold closed on the open market Tuesday, $2,990.20 per troy ounce, making its market value much higher, at about $440.6 billion. A troy ounce, a weight measurement for precious metals, is approximately 31.1 grams.
There were about 469.1 billion short tons of coal in U.S. reserves as of Jan. 1, 2024, , though only about 53% of that was available for mining. EIA estimates its value at approximately $598.3 billion. That's more than all of the gold at Fort Knox, but far short of 100 times that amount. A short ton, also known as a U.S. ton, is equivalent to 2,000 pounds.
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TRUMP: 鈥淭hey鈥檙e opening up coal, coal plants all over Germany.鈥�
THE FACTS: That鈥檚 not accurate. According to Germany鈥檚 economy ministry, 18 coal-fired power plants were shut down in 2024. 鈥淣o new coal-fired power plants will be built,鈥� a spokesman for the ministry said Wednesday in response to a question about Trump鈥檚 claims. The spokesperson noted the country plans to phase out coal-fired power generation by 2038 at the latest.
Germany did bring some coal-fired plants back online in 2022 and 2023 to deal with natural gas shortages after Russia invaded Ukraine. The government allowed up to six gigawatts of coal-fired power plants to return from the reserve to the market for a limited period of time. They were taken offline by the end of March 2024, according to Agora Energiewende, a Berlin-based climate policy think tank.
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Associated Press climate, environment and energy writer Matthew Daly contributed to this report.
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Melissa Goldin And Jennifer Mcdermott, The Associated Press
