President Donald Trump is spearheading an ambitious plan to revitalize the United States coal industry by leveraging its potential to power the rapidly expanding network of data centers critical for artificial intelligence development.

In a strategic move to bolster both the energy and tech sectors, Trump issued an executive order in April directing his Cabinet to identify regions with existing coal-powered infrastructure suitable for supporting AI data centers and to assess opportunities for expanding capacity to meet surging electricity demands from Big Tech.

The executive order aligns with Trump’s broader vision to rejuvenate the struggling coal industry while addressing the energy needs of tech giants investing heavily in AI.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in January, Trump emphasized coal’s role as a reliable backup power source for data centers, pledging to fast-track approvals for new power plants through emergency declarations if necessary.

“They can fuel it with anything they want, and they may have coal as a backup — good, clean coal,” the president said.

Trump’s coal promotion clashes with tech companies’ sustainability goals, potentially delaying coal plant closures as tech’s energy demands grow.

Coal emits more CO2 per kilowatt-hour than any U.S. energy source except oil, per the Energy Information Administration.

Tech firms have poured billions into renewables and are eyeing nuclear power to meet rising electricity needs while cutting emissions.

For coal miners, Trump’s policy offers hope, but coal’s share of U.S. electricity fell to 16% in 2023 from 51% in 2001, per EIA data.

Peabody Energy CEO, James Grech, who attended Trump’s executive order ceremony at the White House, said “coal plants can shoulder a heavier load of meeting U.S. generation demands, including multiple years of data center growth.”

Grech emphasized that coal plants need to increase their power output. During the company’s May 6 earnings call, he noted that the nation’s coal fleet is currently operating at about 42% of its maximum capacity, well below the historical average of 72%.

“We believe that all coal-powered generators need to defer U.S. coal plant retirements as the situation on the ground has clearly changed,” Grech said. “We believe generators should un-retire coal plants that have recently been mothballed.”

The tech industry is increasingly acknowledging that meeting the rising electricity demand from AI and data centers will require continued reliance on fossil fuel generation.