July 5, 2025 - “The future for coal is long and bright,” said U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright during a recent visit to Morgantown.

Wright, while visiting the National Energy Technology Laboratory facility, said the Trump administration wants to work to reverse the industry’s decades of decline by encouraging greater production and use of coal, along with preventing the premature closure of still-viable coal-fired power plants.

The administration views coal as a valuable asset needed to gain an economic edge over China, especially when it comes to AI, Wright said.

“We’re going to need 50 to maybe 150 gigawatts of new capacity, and if you’re going to add a lot of new capacity, the first thing you should do is stop shrinking the capacity you have,” he said.

Wright calls the need to increase the nation’s electrical capacity the “second Manhattan Project,” in reference to the program that created the first atomic weapons.

“AI is the second parallel — a huge innovation where we can’t get second,” he said. “China put on about 90 new coal plants last year, and about a similar amount of new plants will come on this year. They’ve rapidly grown their electricity for industrial processes, also for AI.”

Recommissioning a retired coal-fired facility is a difficult process, but his team plans to look into the possibility of bringing some closed plants back online, Wright said.

“We’re looking at that, and I think you will see some coal plants reopened,” he said.

Meanwhile, his department will work to prevent the imminent closure of facilities throughout the country, Wright said.

“I think our biggest impact by far is going to be — there are like 40 coal plants that are supposed to close this year — and our biggest impact is going to be to stop the closure of most of those,” he said.

As U.S. energy secretary, he has the authority to prevent the planned closure of some power plants, Wright said.

“It’s been very politically fashionable to close, really for the last 15 or 20 years, coal power plants. Some of them are 100 years old and they should be retired,” he said. “But we’ve closed so many plants that are midstream in their lives that are critical to a secure (electric) grid.”

West Virginia has a long history of energy production, dating back more than a century, Wright said.

“West Virginia has been an energy industrial powerhouse since it has been a state,” he said. “I think the outlook in energy and industry is quite bright.”

In April, Trump signed a series of executive orders to reinvigorate the “Beautiful Clean Coal Industry,” prevent regulatory overreach by state governments, and strengthen the reliability of the national electric grid.

“These executive orders are a direct investment in America’s energy future and in the communities that have long powered our nation,” Trump said during the event.

The orders mark a major shift for the industry, according to Coal Association President Chris Hamilton.

“We are deeply grateful to President Trump, Energy Secretary Wright, Secretary [Doug] Burgum, and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin for their leadership in rolling back these anti-coal regulations,” he said. “For years, our industry has faced undue pressure from excessive regulatory measures that have led to job loss and stifled industry growth and innovation.”

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., recently said the administration’s efforts to support the coal industry will “keep our coal miners working and our coal facilities open, I think will increase employment just because of increased production but also the increased use of coal.”

However, it’s unlikely any new coal-fired power plants will be built any time soon, Capito said.

“You and I both know that’s a pretty steep hill to climb,” she said. “There have been no new coal plants built in this country for quite some time. I think Longview might be one of the newest ones,” she said.

The Longview Power Plant in Monongalia County, near Maidsville, went into operation in 2011.