Coal is still an essential part of America's energy portfolio. About 17 percent of America's electricity generation is from coal-fired plants, producing around 731 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) out of a total of 4,260 billion kWh. Generation by coal plants in 2025 actually increased over 2024, despite the increasing move to natural gas-powered plants, due to cold weather over much of the northern United States - where's that global warming when we could use a little of it, anyway?
Speaking at a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright brought some numbers as to how the United States is meeting its energy needs with coal.
.@SecretaryWright: "Coal production is growing again in the United States after years of decline—and this beautiful, clean, coal was the MVP of the huge cold snap we're in right now. I can say with some confidence hundreds of American lives have been saved because of your leaning… pic.twitter.com/Fje5kUjKV5
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 29, 2026
Some key points from Mr. Wright's remarks:
I can say with confidence that your (President Trump's) energy dominance agenda is firing on all cylinders. United States oil production today is greater than Saudi Arabia and Russia combined. The number two and number three producers. Our natural gas production today, is greater than Russia, China, and Iran combined. The second, third, and fourth largest natural gas producers. Huge production in the United States. Secretary Burgum, at the Interior Department, has taken in more money on oil and gas lease sales in the first year of this administration than in the entire four years of the Biden administration.
That's all good news, but Secretary Wright gives coal production a lot of credit in dealing with increased demand in the current cold spell.
And beyond oil and gas, six new coal leases, under this first year of this administration, from the Interior Department, and coal production is growing again in the United States after years of decline. And this beautiful clean coal, was the MVP of the huge cold snap we're in right now. I can say with some confidence hundreds of American lives have been saved, because of your leaning in, and stopping the killing of coal, and revitalizing coal. Coal, over the last few days, we had peak demand in electricity, has delivered 20 times more electricity than solar and battery.
Coal is still a big part of how we meet floor energy demands. Yes, natural gas and nuclear are cleaner. Yes, natural gas and nuclear are essential parts of our energy portfolio moving forward. But we still rely on coal, and the recent cold snaps in the eastern United States, just like last winter's infamous polar vortex cold spell, remind us why all of our energy needs must be filled by sources that are reliable, consistent, and affordable.
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Coal will, very likely, continue to decline as an overall part of our energy portfolio, but not because of climate concerns, but because natural gas and, more so, nuclear power, present a significant increase in energy density. That's how it works. That's how it has always worked, and that's how it always will work; there's no known cap except, perhaps, matter-antimatter reactors, which only exist in science fiction. In the meantime, we still need coal - and thanks to the efforts of Secretary Wright, we'll still have it.
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