President Donald Trump signed multiple executive orders on Tuesday aimed at increasing U.S. coal production and keeping coal-fired power plants operational.
Along with those actions, Trump directed the head of the Department of Energy to 鈥渟ave鈥� the Cholla Power Plant, a coal-fired power plant in Arizona鈥檚 Navajo County that was scheduled to cease operations this year.
The Cholla Power Plant, located just southeast of Joseph City between Winslow and Holbrook, had already shut down two of its four generating units over the past decade rather than bring them into compliance with environmental regulations. The remaining units were set to close in 2025.
The plant is jointly owned by Arizona Public Service (APS), the state鈥檚 largest utility provider, and PacifiCorp, an Oregon-based utility company.
Eli Crane, the U.S. representative for Arizona鈥檚 2nd Congressional District, celebrated the president鈥檚 intervention and the directive to keep the Cholla Power Plant open.
"For years, radical environmentalists tried to destroy the once thriving coal industry,鈥� Crane said in a press release. 鈥淯nder President Trump's leadership, those days are officially over. This is a huge win for Navajo County, and I applaud the president and his team for delivering."
U.S. coal production and consumption have been declining for years -- partly from intentional decisions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and partly as a result of the decreasing costs of renewable energy alternatives such as wind and solar. Although Trump repeatedly used the phrase 鈥渂eautiful, clean coal鈥� in his order, coal is one of the largest sources of human-caused carbon dioxide emissions worldwide, and the United Nations has urged countries to eliminate coal use to mitigate climate change.
One of Trump鈥檚 orders instructs federal land management agencies -- such as the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management -- to prioritize mining wherever coal deposits are located. Another order directs the attorney general to challenge the enforcement of state laws related to climate change or greenhouse gas emissions.
Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren also released a statement -- and a selfie taken with Trump -- following the order, emphasizing the economic impact of coal for Navajo communities.
鈥淭he harmful policies of the past have unfairly targeted coal, but those tides are turning,鈥� Nygren said. He added that the 2019 closure of the Navajo Generating Station happened 鈥渢oo soon鈥� and cost the Nation jobs and revenue.
鈥淭he Navajo Nation is ready to lead 鈥� not only in energy production but in shaping an energy future that honors our sovereignty, strengthens our economy and secures our place in the global supply chain,鈥� Nygren concluded.
Stefan Sommer, member of the board of directors of the Northern Arizona Climate Change Alliance and affiliate of Northern Arizona University's Center for Adaptable Western Landscapes, described the Cholla Power Plant decision as "micromanagement at its worst."聽
"Two of the four generators at the Cholla Plant have already been decommissioned, and the whole plant desperately needs to be put out of its misery since it has been in operation for over 63 years," Sommer said. "Coal is now one of the most expensive ways to generate electricity, and we currently have over 1,500 [megawatts] of clean and inexpensive solar and wind power plants in northern Arizona to make up for the measly 425 MW that the Cholla plant can barely produce. In addition, coal is the dirtiest way to produce electricity because it contaminates our air, water and rangeland soils."
"Coal has the heaviest carbon footprint," Sommer continued, "which is exactly what we do not need right now as the climate crisis continues to threaten our homes with wildfire, drive insurance companies out of business, accelerate crop losses in every part of the world, cause hundreds of billions of damage to U.S. infrastructure every year, and drive climate refugees to our southern border because conditions are no longer livable in their home countries."