While officials tout the return of coal power as the answer to the affordability crisis, critics point to America’s aging coal infrastructure as a pain point in its return.
The Trump administration has vowed to keep coal plants open in an effort to meet surging electricity and consumer costs, MSN reports. “The goal is 100% open,” Jennifer A. Dlouhy and Will Wade reported Interior Secretary Doug Burgum stating.
US coal consumption has experienced significant decline due to the shift toward cheaper alternatives, like natural gas, wind and solar. Coal once accounted for more than half of American electricity generation. In 2025 it accounted for 17 percent.
Andy Blumenfeld, director of data analytics at McCloskey by Opis weighed in, noting that continuing coal power generation is only a short term strategy due to the significant maintenance required to maintain the nation’s stable of aging plants, which the Department of Energy has already set aside $525 million to begin addressing. “We need the power, and the coal units are there now. But in the long term, they’re up against an aging coal fleet,” said Blumenfeld.
Read the full story below.
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