Analysis: Trump has overseen more coal retirements than any other US president

<p>Donald Trump has overseen more retirements of coal-fired power stations than any other US president, according to Carbon Brief analysis.</p>

<p>His administration’s latest efforts to roll back US climate policy have been <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3melotbaogb26">presented</a> by interior secretary Doug Burgum as an opportunity to revive “clean, beautiful, American coal”.</p>

<p>The administration is in the process of <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/daily-brief/trump-to-repeal-endangerment-finding-nature-loss-warning-record-uk-solar-auction/">attempting</a> to <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/daily-brief/trump-to-repeal-endangerment-finding-nature-loss-warning-record-uk-solar-auction/">repeal</a> the 2009 “<a href="https://interactive.carbonbrief.org/doe-factcheck/index.html">endangerment</a>” finding, which is the legal underpinning of many federal climate regulations.</p>

<p>On 11 February, the White House issued an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/02/strengthening-united-states-national-defense-with-americas-beautiful-clean-coal-power-generation-fleet/">executive order</a> on “America’s beautiful clean coal power generation fleet”, calling for government <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/af62f1fd-c409-4f33-8cd5-329146eb4222">contracts and subsidies</a> to keep plants open.</p>

<p>On the same day, Trump was <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-clean-coal-white-house-meeting-b2918708.html">presented</a> with a trophy by coal-mining executives declaring him to be the “undisputed champion of beautiful clean coal”.</p>

<p>These words are in sharp contrast to Trump&#8217;s record in office, with more coal-fired power plants having retired under his leadership than any other president, as shown in the figure below.</p>

<p>This is because coal plants have been uneconomic to operate compared with cheaper gas and renewables&nbsp;– and because most of the US coal fleet is extremely old.</p>

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img alt="A blue and red bar chart on a white background shpwing that Trump has overseen more coal retirements than any other US president. The chart shows that Biden oversaw 41 coal retirements, Obama 48, and Trump 57." class="wp-image-61267" height="645" src="https://www.carbonbrief.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/1_Trump_has_overseen_more_coal_retirements_than_any_other_br_US_president-1024x645.png" width="1024" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Capacity of coal-fired power plants retiring under recent US presidents, gigawatts (GW). Source: Carbon Brief analysis of data from <a href="https://globalenergymonitor.org/projects/global-coal-plant-tracker/">Global Energy Monitor</a>.</figcaption></figure>

<p>In total, some 57 gigawatts (GW) of coal capacity has already been retired during Trump’s first and second terms in office, compared with 48GW under Obama’s two full terms and 41GW under Biden’s single term.</p>

<p>Even in relative terms, the US has lost a larger proportion of its remaining coal fleet for each year of Trump’s presidencies than for either of his recent predecessors.</p>

<p>Trump’s record hints at the many practical and economic factors that have driven US coal closures, regardless of the preferences of the president of the day.</p>

<p>Indeed, Trump made <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jan/08/donald-trump-coal-industry-plan-rejected-rick-perry">various</a><a href="https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/energy/trumps-war-on-coal">efforts</a> to prop up coal power during his first term in office. These were <a href="https://www.eenews.net/articles/more-coal-has-retired-under-trump-than-in-obamas-2nd-term/">ultimately</a><a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/business/environment/us-coal-fired-power-plants-closing-fast-despite-trumps-pledge-of-support-for-idUSKBN1ZC159/">unsuccessful</a>, as the figure below illustrates.</p>

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img alt="Coal-fired power capacity in the US, GW. Source: Global Energy Monitor." class="wp-image-61265" height="567" src="https://www.carbonbrief.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2_The_size_of_US_coal-power_fleet_has_nearly_halved_since_2010-1024x567.png" width="1024" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Coal-fired power capacity in the US, GW. Source: <a href="https://globalenergymonitor.org/projects/global-coal-plant-tracker/">Global Energy Monitor</a>.</figcaption></figure>

<p>Coal plants have been retiring in large numbers over the past 20 years because they were <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/af62f1fd-c409-4f33-8cd5-329146eb4222">uneconomic</a> relative to <a href="https://www.wri.org/insights/trump-coal-plant-extension-cost-impacts">cheaper sources</a> of electricity, including renewables and gas.</p>

<p>These unfavourable market conditions, alongside <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-finalizes-suite-standards-reduce-pollution-fossil-fuel">air pollution regulations</a> unrelated to climate change, have resulted in a steady parade of coal closures under successive presidents.</p>

<p>By 2024, wind and solar were generating <a href="https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/clean-energy/wind-and-solar-overtook-coal-on-the-us-grid-in-2024">more electricity</a> in the US than coal.</p>

<p>More recently, <a href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=66785">analysis</a> from the US <a href="https://www.eia.gov/">Energy Information Administration</a> shows that surging power prices have improved the economics of both coal and gas-fired power plants.</p>

<p>These <a href="https://www.wri.org/insights/whats-driving-us-electricity-prices">rising prices</a> have been <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/57945d06-267f-4eac-bb3d-1fff6f8a3336">driven</a> by increasing demand, including from data centres, and by higher gas prices, due to increasing exports at liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals.</p>

<p>These factors saw coal-power output increase by 13% year-on-year in 2025, only the second rise in a decade of steady decline for the fuel, <a href="https://rhg.com/research/us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-2025/">according</a> to the <a href="https://rhg.com/">Rhodium Group</a>.</p>

<p>Nevertheless, many utilities have still been looking to shutter their ageing coal-fired power plants.</p>

<p>The vast majority of US coal plants are nearing retirement. Three-quarters of US coal capacity is more than four decades old and only 14% is less than 20 years old, as shown in the figure below.</p>

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img alt="Capacity of US coal plants by age group, GW. Source: Global Energy Monitor." class="wp-image-61262" height="586" src="https://www.carbonbrief.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/3_The_vast_majority_of_US_coal-fired_power_plants_are_very_old-1024x586.png" width="1024" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Capacity of US coal plants by age group, GW. Source: <a href="https://globalenergymonitor.org/projects/global-coal-plant-tracker/">Global Energy Monitor</a>.</figcaption></figure>

<p>In response, the Trump administration has recently <a href="https://xenetwork.org/ets/episodes/episode-269-trumps-war-on-the-energy-transition/">invoked legislation</a> designed for wartime emergencies to <a href="https://www.edf.org/media/trump-administration-forces-washingtons-last-coal-plant-stay-open-past-retirement-needlessly">force</a> a number of uneconomic coal plants to remain open.</p>

<p>Despite Trump’s efforts, clean energy <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/bistline.bsky.social/post/3mem34mf7gc2p">made up 96%</a> of the new electricity generation capacity added to the US grid in 2025. None of the new capacity came from coal power.</p>

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<p>The post <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-trump-has-overseen-more-coal-retirements-than-any-other-us-president/">Analysis: Trump has overseen more coal retirements than any other US president</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org">Carbon Brief</a>.</p>