Restarting coal plants after Trump’s executive orders makes no economic sense, report says

President Donald Trump is pushing for increased coal production in the U.S., but the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) stated that reviving decommissioned coal plants for this purpose is economically impractical. Trump’s executive orders could potentially delay the closure of coal-fired power plants and encourage the restart of 102 recently shut coal-fired units, despite their age and maintenance costs. However, with coal plants now accounting for less than 20% of U.S. electricity generation and most utilities shifting towards more efficient forms of energy, the IEEFA argues that investing in reopening closed coal plants is not a sensible use of taxpayer or ratepayer funds.

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