FACT FOCUS: Trump misrepresents info about coal as he indicators govt orders to spice up its use | EUROtoday

President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed 4 govt orders designed to spice up the U.S. coal business, outlining steps to guard coal-fired energy crops and expedite leases for coal mining on U.S. land. But in touting the advantages of coal, he misrepresented a number of elements of its security and use.

Here’s a have a look at the info.

CLAIM: “I call it beautiful, clean coal. I told my people, never use the word coal unless you put beautiful, clean before it.”

THE FACTS: The manufacturing of coal is cleaner now than it has been traditionally, however that doesn’t imply it’s clear.

Planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions from the coal business have decreased over the previous 30 years, in accordance with the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Energy lobbyist Scott Segal mentioned that “the relative statement that coal-fired electricity is cleaner than ever before is true, particularly when emissions are measured per unit of electricity produced.”

And but, coal manufacturing worldwide nonetheless must be lowered sharply to deal with local weather change, in accordance with United Nations-backed analysis.

Along with carbon dioxide, burning coal emits sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides that contribute to acid rain, smog and respiratory sicknesses, in accordance with the EIA.

Over the previous 15 years, the U.S. has seen a significant shift from coal to pure fuel for electrical energy use, a key purpose U.S. carbon emissions have declined over that interval.

Coal as soon as supplied greater than half of U.S. electrical energy manufacturing, however its share dropped to about 16% in 2023, down from about 45% as just lately as 2010. Natural fuel supplies about 43% of U.S. electrical energy, with the rest from nuclear vitality and renewables equivalent to wind, photo voltaic and hydropower.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright acknowledged throughout his affirmation listening to in January that the burning of fossil fuels — coal, oil and pure fuel — causes local weather change. That’s as a result of the combustion of fossil fuels is drastically rising the quantity of carbon dioxide within the environment, warming the planet.

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TRUMP: “It’s cheap, incredibly efficient, high density and it’s almost indestructible.”

THE FACTS: Coal is likely one of the most costly sources of latest energy era. New coal crops would produce electrical energy at almost $90 per megawatt hour on common, although nobody within the U.S. is at the moment constructing or planning to construct a brand new coal plant, in accordance with estimates from the EIA.

Standalone photo voltaic with out battery storage is the most cost effective supply of latest energy era at about $23 per megawatt hour on common for brand spanking new initiatives connecting to the grid in 2028, the EIA estimates. That contains tax credit and different subsidies beneath the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which assist scale back the price of renewable vitality.

New pure fuel crops are anticipated to provide electrical energy at almost $43 per megawatt hour, in accordance with the estimates.

A nonpartisan local weather coverage assume tank, Energy Innovation, discovered that 99% of current U.S. coal crops are costlier to maintain operating than in the event that they’re changed with native photo voltaic, wind, and battery storage. Americans instantly start saving cash when coal crops retire and communities transition to wash vitality, in accordance with Energy Innovation’s 2023 report.

“Trump has promised to cut American energy bills in half – this is yet another way he’s forcing Americans to pay more,” Greg Alvarez, a spokesperson with Energy Innovations, wrote in an e mail Tuesday.

Coal crops operated at full energy about 42.4% of the time in 2023, in accordance with EIA’s most up-to-date knowledge. In comparability, nuclear and geothermal crops ranked highest, at about 93% and 69.4%, respectively.

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CLAIM: “The value of untapped coal in our country is 100 times greater than the value of all the gold at Fort Knox.”

THE FACTS: Although the U.S. does have an abundance of coal, its estimated worth just isn’t almost as excessive as Trump claims.

There are at the moment about 147.3 million troy ounces of gold saved at Fort Knox with a guide worth of roughly $6.2 billion, in accordance with the U.S. Treasury. Gold closed on the open market Tuesday, buying and selling at $2,990.20 per troy ounce, making its market worth a lot greater, at about $440.6 billion. A troy ounce, a weight measurement for valuable metals, is roughly 31.1 grams.

There had been about 469.1 billion brief tons of coal in U.S. reserves as of Jan. 1, 2024, in accordance with the EIA, although solely about 53% of that was accessible for mining. EIA estimates its worth at roughly $598.3 billion. That’s greater than all the gold at Fort Knox, however far wanting 100 occasions that quantity. A brief ton, often known as a U.S. ton, is equal to 2,000 kilos.

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TRUMP: “They’re opening up coal, coal plants all over Germany.”

THE FACTS: That’s not correct. According to Germany’s economic system ministry, 18 coal-fired energy crops had been shut down in 2024. “No new coal-fired power plants will be built,” a spokesman for the ministry mentioned Wednesday in response to a query about Trump’s claims. The spokesperson famous the nation plans to section out coal-fired energy era by 2038 on the newest.

Germany did carry some coal-fired crops again on-line in 2022 and 2023 to cope with pure fuel shortages after Russia invaded Ukraine, however that was achieved as a short-term transfer.

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Associated Press local weather, setting and vitality author Matthew Daly contributed to this report.

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Find AP Fact Checks right here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck.