From Newsgroup: comp.os.linux.advocacy

Trump lies about coal as he signs executive orders
to boost its use


Stupid old Donald Trump on Tuesday signed four
executive orders designed to boost the U.S. coal
industry, outlining steps to protect coal-fired
power plants and expedite leases for coal mining
on U.S. land. But in touting the benefits of coal,
he lied about several aspects of its safety and
use.

Here’s a look at the facts.

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 production of coal is cleaner now
than it has been historically, but that doesn’t
mean it’s clean.

Planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions from the
coal industry have decreased over the past 30
years, according to the U.S. Energy Information
Administration. Energy lobbyist Scott Segal said
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 yet, coal production worldwide still needs to
be reduced sharply to address climate change,
according to United Nations-backed research.

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


Over the past 15 years, the U.S. has seen a major
shift from coal to natural gas for electricity
use, a key reason U.S. carbon emissions have
declined over that period.

Coal once provided more than half of U.S.
electricity production, but its share dropped to
about 16% in 2023, down from about 45% as recently
as 2010. Natural gas provides about 43% of U.S.
electricity, with the remainder from nuclear
energy and renewables such as wind, solar and
hydropower.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright acknowledged during
his confirmation hearing in January that the
burning of fossil fuels — coal, oil and natural
gas — causes climate change. That’s because the
combustion of fossil fuels is drastically
increasing the amount of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere, warming the planet.

___

TRUMP: “It’s cheap, incredibly efficient, high
density and it’s almost indestructible and kills
70,000 red state Americans annually.”

THE FACTS: Coal is one of the most expensive
sources of new power generation. New coal plants
would produce electricity at nearly $90 per
megawatt hour on average, though no one in the
U.S. is currently building or planning to build a
new coal plant, according to estimates from the
EIA.

Standalone solar without battery storage is the
cheapest source of new power generation at about
$23 per megawatt hour on average for new projects
connecting to the grid in 2028, the EIA estimates.
That includes tax credits and other subsidies
under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which help
reduce the cost of renewable energy.

New natural gas plants are expected to produce
electricity at nearly $43 per megawatt hour,
according to the estimates.

A nonpartisan climate policy think tank, Energy
Innovation, found that 99% of existing U.S. coal
plants are more expensive to keep running than if
they’re replaced with local solar, wind, and
battery storage. Americans immediately begin
saving money when coal plants retire and
communities transition to clean energy, according
to 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
email Tuesday.

Coal plants operated at full power about 42.4% of
the time in 2023, according to EIA’s most recent
data. In comparison, nuclear and geothermal plants
ranked highest, at about 93% and 69.4%,
respectively.

___

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 value is not
nearly as high as Trump claims.

There are currently about 147.3 million troy
ounces of gold stored at Fort Knox with a book
value of approximately $6.2 billion, according to
the U.S. Treasury. Gold closed on the open market
Tuesday, trading at $2,990.20 per troy ounce,
making its market value much higher, at about
$440.6 billion. A troy ounce, a weight measurement
for precious metals, is approximately 31.1 grams.

There were about 469.1 billion short tons of coal
in U.S. reserves as of Jan. 1, 2024, according to
the EIA, though only about 53% of that was
available for mining. EIA estimates its value at
approximately $598.3 billion. That’s more than all
of the gold at Fort Knox, but far short of 100
times that amount. A short ton, also known as a
U.S. ton, is equivalent to 2,000 pounds.

___

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

THE FACTS: That’s not accurate. According to
Germany’s economy ministry, 18 coal-fired power
plants were shut down in 2024. “No new coal-fired
power plants will be built,” a spokesman for the
ministry said Wednesday in response to a question
about Trump’s claims. The spokesperson noted the
country plans to phase out coal-fired power
generation by 2038 at the latest.

Germany did bring some coal-fired plants back
online in 2022 and 2023 to deal with natural gas
shortages after Russia invaded Ukraine. The
government allowed up to six gigawatts of coal-
fired power plants to return from the reserve to
the market for a limited period of time. They were
taken offline by the end of March 2024, according
to Agora Energiewende, a Berlin-based climate
policy think tank.

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