Trump Officials Vow to Keep All US Coal Plants Running (1)

Trump administration officials vowed to keep US coal power plants operating, casting it as an imperative to meet surging electricity demand and drive a revival of the nation’s industrial base.

“The goal is 100% open,” said Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. “That’s the standard we’re operating against.”

Rail cars are filled with coal and sprayed with a topper agent to suppress dust north of Douglas, Wyoming. The Interior Department has moved to open more federal land for coal leasing in North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming.

Photographer: Ryan Dorgan/Casper Star-Tribune/AP

Burgum’s comment came during the first meeting of Trump’s newly reconstituted National Coal Council, an advisory panel that Joe Biden let lapse during his presidency. President Donald Trump, by contrast, has sought to engineer a coal resurgence in his second term, including by requiring some power plants to keep burning the ...