In recent years, coal-fired generation has reduced significantly in relation to other energy generation. As recently as 2014, according to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, coal produced 39 percent of electricity in the U.S. Last year, that number had dropped to 15 percent. While this has in part been a result of greater use of other energy sources, including natural gas, wind, and solar, the reduction in coal production also occurred because, over the past two decades, nearly 75 percent of U.S. coal plants have retired or planned to do so by 2030.
The steady decline of coal, however, has recently slowed as a result of multiple federal and state government measures. On the federal level, the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) was recently enacted. According to the West Virginia Coal Association, the OBBB includes multiple provisions to level the playing field across the energy sector. Specifically, it phases out several clean energy tax credits and delays emissions-reduction mandates for energy producers. It also allows metallurgical coal producers to claim a tax credit that was previously reserved for critical minerals. Finally, the OBBB reduces certain regulatory hurdles and provides protections against lawsuits and challenges that have slowed new coal mine and mine-related development in the past. As a result of the tax credit and other provisions, the coal industry will experience savings that should make coal more competitive with other energy generation.
For West Virginia, state-level legislation has also supported the coal industry. According to WVVA, West Virginia House Bill 2014 (HB 2014) incentivizes microgrid and data center development in the state, but also has a component that will extend the life of the nine coal-fired power plants in West Virginia to provide needed power.
The Georgia Public Service Commission has also recently approved a deal that will extend the lifetime of two of its coal plants past their original retirement dates. According to Georgia Power's CEO, Kim Greene, the approved plan will ensure that the utility has the resources and programs it needs to reliably and economically meet the future energy needs of its customers.
In addition to the OBBB and individual state actions, the Trump administration has also specifically stopped the retirement of various coal-fired plants nationwide. After six decades of power production, a Michigan coal-fired plant was scheduled to retire in May 2025, but the administration issued an order to keep the plant running. Eco-Business reports that the Trump administration has issued several similar executive orders that are meant to support the coal industry to ensure the energy needed to support fast-rising electricity needs are met.
While not all stakeholders desire extended coal generation, the administration is hoping to reinforce baseload power from coal and gas plants to support the reliability of the grid. The need for sufficient baseload power is driven in large part by growing data center energy demand, which rose by 12 percent from 2017 to 2024, and is expected to double by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency. With increasing energy needs, both federal and state governments have looked to extending the lifespan of existing coal-fired generation plants to ensure grid reliability and stability. What is yet to be seen, however, is whether these generation extensions and additional support for the coal industry will result in lower electricity costs or increased grid reliability for customers.
