Since taking office, Trump’s energy policy has been very “Champion of Coal.” It has been very not “Champion of Lower Energy Costs”, “Champion of Clean Affordable
Honorable mention:
Every good villain needs a sidekick. Meet Coalie, the Trump administration’s fun-loving and adorable partner-in-coal-crime.
To secure his prize, Trump has been working overtime propping up the flailing coal industry. Obviously, this has meant he has had to put other campaign promises and priorities, like lowering energy costs for families and protecting public health, on the backburner. Here’s what that means for the rest of us.
Trump's coal industry support is costing us
For decades, the U.S. has shifted away from polluting, expensive and outdated coal. Trump’s administration has instead prioritized coal power. His obsession with dirty energy is reckless, senseless, and very bad for all of us.
1. Coal power is expensive
Trump’s coal and fossil fuel favoritism is driving up energy costs nationwide. Coal power has one of the highest costs of any energy source, and these costs have only increased. In 2024, the cost to generate coal power was about 28% higher than it was just three years earlier.
In his first year, Trump forced coal-burning units at five outdated, polluting, expensive coal plants to stay open. These coal-burning units were scheduled for retirement because they are decades old. Instead the Trump administration forced them to stay open under the guise of Trump’s sham “energy emergency” declaration.
One of the plants forced to stay open (against the community and operating utility’s wishes, we might add) is the J.H. Campbell coal plant in Michigan. The net cost for keeping the plant open has risen to $135 million. These costs are being passed down to customers to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars each day(!). Needless to say, both Michigan residents and the plant’s operating utility, Consumers Energy, are not thrilled.
My family had a countdown for [Campbell] closing, we couldn’t wait.”
West Michigan resident Mark Oppenhuizen, who has lived near the Campbell coal plant for 30 years, explained to The Guardian. He and his family have long feared the plant’s pollution was worsening his wife’s lung disease.
Keeping coal plants operating is driving up energy bills, but can shutting them down lower costs? In Oregon, the answer is yes. After closing the coal-powered North Valmy Generating Station, the local utility is planning to lower electricity rates. It’s almost as if closing expensive coal plants while increasing cheap clean energy can lower energy bills for everyday people like you and me. It’s not like we’ve been saying that for literal years or anything.
2. Coal power is unreliable
We’re going to hold your hand while we say this: you’ve been lied to. Not only is coal power expensive, it is also not reliable. In Texas, the newest coal plant in the country failed so catastrophically that it will be offline for two years. TWO YEARS.
And this is not the first time a major failure at the plant has forced it to cease operations for a year or more. Back in Michigan, parts of the Campbell plant keep failing, so it regularly produces less energy than it should. Coal plants break down twice as much as wind turbines, with unplanned outages causing trouble for grid operators trying to keep the lights on. Higher costs AND less reliable service? No thanks.
These coal plant failures are making us think maybe we need more reliable wind and solar energy and battery storage. Something to consider.
Trump’s wholehearted support of fossil fuels is driving up our energy costs and making energy less reliable. And it’s having disastrous consequences for the environment.
Energy demand is growing, and we need a plan to keep up with it. As much as we would hate to see Trump lose his new Champion of Coal title, he needs to get on board with the cheapest and fastest way to bring more energy onto the grid: wind and solar power.
Thanks to continuous technology advances, clean energy projects including wind turbines, solar panels, and batteries are fast and cheap to build. (In contrast, the cost to build dirty energy such as gas-fired power plants is rising.) Once they’re on the grid, solar and wind provide the lowest energy costs to customers. And when paired with batteries or other energy storage, wind and solar can provide electricity whenever it’s needed.
Despite the advantages of affordable, clean, renewable energy over coal, Trump doesn’t want us to move forward. He would rather take us back in time, and drive up our costs while he’s at it. It doesn’t make any sense. As he props up the failing, ancient coal industry, he is at the same time shutting down projects to provide clean, affordable energy that could make our lives better.
Clean energy projects the Trump administration has canceled include:
Esmerelda 7: A group of seven large solar projects in rural Nevada that would have provided enough clean energy to power 2 million homes. The development would have been the largest solar project in the country. It was also serving as a testing ground for a more efficient federal permitting process that would have allowed clean energy projects to be built more quickly. The mega-project was cancelled in October.
Solar for All: A $7 billion program aimed at making clean, affordable solar power accessible for low-wealth households and communities. The EPA canceled Solar for All in August. Last month, more than 20 states filed a lawsuit with the agency in response.
Revolution Wind: An offshore wind project off the coast of Rhode Island. The Trump administration issued a stop work order when the project was 80% complete. Since then, a court has temporarily lifted the order, allowing the project to resume construction. In December 2025, Trump hit Revolution Wind, along with four other offshore wind projects, with new stop work orders. These were also temporarily lifted by courts.
Tell Trump and Congress: We need cheaper, cleaner energy
Trump’s quest to be the reigning champion of coal is nothing more than an ego trip and corruption at the expense of everyday people.
While President Trump and congressional Republicans seem to actually enjoy driving up our costs, some members of Congress are taking action to make energy more affordable. Representatives Sean Casten (IL-06) and Mike Levin (CA-49) are planning to introduce the Energy Bills Relief Act which aims to lower energy costs by:
Incentivizing utility companies to save consumers money.
Shifting the costs of connecting and powering data centers off of everyday customers.
Providing energy assistance to millions of households.
Restoring clean energy and energy efficiency tax credits.
Adding more capacity to the electrical grid to meet rising energy demand, while making sure large energy users pay their fair share.
Incentivizing money-saving clean energy projects in communities that are most impacted by rising costs and the climate crisis.
Preventing presidents from declaring sham “energy emergencies” to enrich fossil fuel CEOs.
Call your members of Congress right now and ask them to support the Energy Bills Relief Act and tell Trump: start prioritizing people over petty awards!
Credit: Robert S. Donovan.
