April 18, 2025 -  Promising to “turbocharge” the coal industry, President Donald Trump signed new executive orders this month.

“We’re ending Joe Biden’s war on beautiful, clean coal, once and for all,” he said.

The orders aim to halt some Biden-era policies, loosen environmental reviews of coal projects, and allow some older coal plants set for retirement to keep operating.

According to the Kentucky Center for Statistics, roughly 85% of coal jobs in Kentucky have been lost in the last 30 years.

Kentucky ranks sixth in the U.S. in coal production, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

State Sen. Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, was at the White House for the president’s signing.

“This is a step in the right direction in making us, the United States, and the state of Kentucky, and coal-producing states really competitive to be at the next level,” Stivers said this week.

Rob Gramlich, president of the Washington, D.C.-based power sector consulting firm, Grid Strategies, said the key factor in reducing coal power production has been the rise of natural gas. 

Some coal plants were already likely to stay open longer than expected because of energy demands, and anyone expecting the president’s executive orders to spur a coal comeback shouldn’t get their hopes up, he told Spectrum News. 

“I don’t see it in the marketplace and I don't see anybody building new power plants, coal-fired power plants, and the ones we have are all getting older and older,” he said. 

Erin Bates, communications director with the United Mine Workers of America, said the union appreciates the president’s actions, but there needs to be more of a draw for utility companies to use coal.

“While there may be a resurgence of coal plants opening up, that would be amazing, but if the utility companies don't utilize coal internally and within the United States, then they're not going to make any profit,” she said.

In a statement last week, the environmental organization, Kentucky Sierra Club said “artificially extending the life of coal-fired power plants will deepen impacts on public health and raise monthly energy bills for Kentuckians.”