Trump's fight for coal
A proposed grid resiliency rule would subsidise coal plants, at the cost of gas and renewables
A year into his first term, Donald Trump has shown that he intends to do more than simply end the "war on coal", and is leading a fight to restore its preeminence. His administration has ended a raft of Obama-era anti-pollution rules targeting coal plants. His Environmental Protection Agency is seeking to keep the proposed Clean Power Plan, which aims to slash power-related emissions by a third, from ever going into effect. The most forceful move yet to tip the market in coal's favour, however, is energy secretary Rick Perry's proposed "Grid Resiliency Pricing Rule", which would help prop up struggling coal, and to a lesser extent, nuclear power plants. The rule, which Perry has put forward
Also in this section
23 December 2025
Legislative reform in Germany sets the stage for commercial carbon capture and transport at a national level, while the UK has already seen financial close on major CCS clusters
15 December 2025
Net zero is not the problem for the UK’s power system. The real issue is with an outdated market design in desperate need of modernisation
28 November 2025
The launch of the bloc’s emissions trading system in 2005 was a pioneering step, but as the scheme hits 21 its impact as a driver of decarbonisation is still open to debate
18 November 2025
Vicki Hollub, president and CEO of Occidental, has been selected as the 2026 recipient of the Dewhurst Award, the highest honour bestowed by WPC Energy. The Dewhurst Award celebrates exceptional leadership, groundbreaking innovation and a lifetime of significant achievements in sup-port of the development and advancement of the energy industry.
