Energy Department wants to give coal an even bigger slice of our energy mix

Energy Secretary Rick Perry has ordered a review of the U.S. electric grid to determine whether existing renewable energy policies are accelerating the retirement of coal-fired power plants. The coal industry has been in decline for several decades, primarily due to the abundance of cheaper natural gas. And yet the Trump administration is hell-bent on propping up Big Coal by rolling back federal clean air and water protections, as well as by repealing policies to make it easier to mine coal on public lands. Perry’s 60-day review unfairly targets solar and wind energy when fossil fuels receive the bulk of subsidies (65 percent), with nuclear power making up 21 percent. This leaves very little government funding to invest in clean, renewable energy sources.