On Wednesday, February 11, 2026, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, signed an executive order (EO) titled Strengthening United States National Defense With America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Power Generation Fleet, requiring the United States Department of Defense, in cooperation with the United States Department of Energy, to prioritize entering into long-term contracts (or similar agreements) with suppliers for the purchase of electricity generated by coal-fired power plants to power military installations and key defense facilities.
The Bowen coal-fired power plant in the state of Georgia, commissioned between 1971 and 1975 with four generating units totaling 3,376 MW of capacity / Photo: Georgia Power
In addition, priority will be given to projects aimed at increasing grid reliability and preventing outages, enhancing fuel security at Department of Defense locations, and ensuring a stable electricity supply for defense and intelligence capabilities.
The executive order was signed at the White House in the presence of representatives of the coal industry and miners.
The administration of Donald Trump argues that coal-fired electricity plays a key role in ensuring reliable power sources, national security, and economic stability. It emphasized that the United States Department of Defense must utilize domestic U.S. coal resources, while renewable energy sources such as wind and solar are unreliable during extreme weather conditions, making the power grid and defense installations that depend on them vulnerable to outages.
It was recalled that during the election campaign President Trump warned that “we have an outdated and catastrophic grid system in this country,” underscoring the urgent need for action. On the first day of his second term, he declared a national energy emergency to enable the administration to use all available authorities to improve grid integrity.
In April 2025, President Trump signed two executive orders aimed at recognizing metallurgical coal as a critical mineral, removing barriers to coal mining on federal lands, and granting regulatory relief from certain Biden-era environmental rules affecting some coal-fired power plants imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It was emphasized that these actions prevented the closure of coal-fired power plants generating 17 GW of capacity. In addition, last summer the administration reinstated the charter of the National Coal Council (NCC), a federal advisory committee dissolved under President Biden, and convened its first meeting last month.
President Trump’s decision should be understood as a response to growing electricity demand across the economy, including demand driven by data centers and artificial intelligence, which has contributed to rising energy prices for consumers. However, the move was criticized by Manish Bapna, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, who told Bloomberg that while Americans are calling for clean, affordable energy, the Trump administration is using taxpayer dollars to support the dirtiest and least efficient power plants in the country.
The U.S. coal sector has been steadily shrinking, with the largest number of generating units scheduled for closure between 2026 and 2030. According to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), coal accounted for 51% of the country’s electricity mix in 2001, compared with just 16.2% in 2023. Between 2007 and 2024, greenhouse gas emissions fell by 39% as a result of this reduction. Critics of a return to coal argue that it will not solve energy price issues and that the policy is outdated in comparison with China, which leads globally in renewable energy deployment. The Trump administration’s decision makes sense only in the short term in terms of adding generation capacity.
Meanwhile, the Department of Defense is investing in nuclear energy. It recently announced nine potential locations where small-scale nuclear reactors will be deployed as power sources under the Janus program, an initiative of the Trump administration.
These are not the first such initiatives. In 2019, a pilot project was announced to deploy an experimental small modular nuclear reactor for energy purposes at United States Air Force (USAF) Eielson Air Force Base, scheduled to become operational by the end of 2027.
Also in 2019, a program for a small, mobile nuclear reactor (Small Mobile Nuclear Reactor, SMNR), codenamed Project Pele (formerly Project Dilithium), was launched. The system is intended to weigh under 40 tons and generate 1–5 MW of output, based on an Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) design. On March 24, 2021, two contractors were selected to build prototypes: BWX Technologies of Lynchburg, Virginia, and X-energy of Greenbelt, Maryland.
Coal keeps America's lights ON. ⚡️
President Trump has ENDED the Radical Left's war on coal — and he's bringing it back stronger than ever. pic.twitter.com/PVSuLgnfim
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 12, 2026