Wyoming Energy Leader Appointed To National Coal Advisory Council
The executive director of the Wyoming Energy Authority is now a member of the National Coal Council, WEA announced Monday.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright appointed Wyoming Energy Authority Executive Director Rob Creager to the council.
Chris Wright
The Wyoming Energy Authority is a state government agency designed to bolster the state’s energy economy, and that runs on a two-year budget of $5.2 million. Creager was appointed to lead it in April 2023.
The agency said in a Monday statement that Creager will now bring his expertise in coal, and his representation of Wyoming, to the national stage. Established in 1984, the National Coal Council is a federal advisory committee that helps guide the U.S. Department of Energy.
Creager will serve a two-year, unpaid term on the NCC, during which he’ll advise the Department of Energy on the traits of the coal market — a central resource in the Trump administration’s energy agenda.
“Coal is foundational to Wyoming communities and has been for generations,” Creager said in the statement. “This abundant resource has a critical role in powering the nation, and I am honored to represent our state and local partners in this role. This appointment ensures that Wyoming’s voice is at the table as national energy policy is shaped.”
In April, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at bolstering the coal industry.
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Tighter Supply May Lift PRB Coal Prices
Powder River Basin (PRB) coal prices could rise further in 2026 as producers face constraints on boosting output and demand holds steady.
The year is starting with some US coal-fired units running longer than anticipated — some by utility choice, others under Department of Energy (DOE) emergency orders aimed at preserving grid reliability. A number of these plants consume PRB coal. TransAlta's Centralia plant in Washington consumed 1.83mn short tons (st) (1.66mn metric tonnes) of PRB coal in January-October 2025, US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data show. Consumers Energy's JH Campbell plant in Michigan used 3.7mn st over the same period, while Xcel Energy's Comanche unit 2 consumed 877,391st. All three facilities were scheduled to be retired in 2025, but will remain in operation through at least early 2026.
However, the response from coal producers to any improvement in demand could be uneven, which could in turn constrict competition and boost prices. The EIA projected in December that western US coal production would decrease to 274mn st in 2026 from an estimated 284mn st in 2025. More than 80pc of western US coal output comes from the PRB.
PRB coal production rose in most of 2025 after two years of declines, but annual output may still have been below 2023 levels. EIA estimated mines in Montana and Wyoming, which primarily yield PRB coal, produced 228.2mn st from 1 January through 27 December 2025, up by 5.9pc from the same period in 2024. In comparison, mines in those states produced 266.3mn st in all of 2023.
While larger producers in the basin appear optimistic about market conditions for this year, the two biggest PRB producers — Peabody Energy and Core Natural Resources — said in October they had nearly all of their expected 2026 production already under contract to sell.
"Are we confident about running at max capacity for the next couple of years?" asked Malcolm Roberts, Peabody's chief commercial officer, on 30 October. "The answer is definitely yes in the PRB."
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Congress Unveils Final Energy, Environment Spending Bills
Congressional appropriators Monday morning unveiled final, bipartisan spending bills for the Interior Department, EPA and the Department of Energy, as well as a host of scientific research programs.
The package of three fiscal 2026 bills comes after weeks of negotiations between House and Senate appropriators and aides on both sides of the aisle, and it represents a crucial step forward for Congress' efforts to fund the government as lawmakers scramble to avoid another shutdown after Jan. 30.
The "minibus" includes the Interior-Environment, Energy-Water and Commerce-Justice-Science bills. The House Rules Committee will hold a hearing on the measure Tuesday, and it could get a vote on the House floor before the end of the week.
“This bipartisan, bicameral package reflects steady progress toward completing FY26 funding responsibly,” House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said in a statement. “It invests in priorities crucial to the American people: making our communities safer, supporting affordable and reliable energy, and responsibly managing vital resources.”
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Andy Barr Unveils Plan to Revive Kentucky Coal Jobs and Power Technologies of the Future
Andy Barr, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, released his comprehensive plan to revive Kentucky coal, create good-paying energy jobs, and restore affordable, reliable power as demand from artificial intelligence and advanced technologies surges nationwide. Barr toured Portal 31 in Lynch and then held a press conference flanked by local officials and energy industry leaders in Eastern Kentucky. You can read the full agenda, “Andy Barr’s plan to Revive Kentucky Coal Jobs and Power Technologies of the Future,”.
“I’m fighting alongside President Trump to Make America Energy Dominant Again — and that fight starts right here in Kentucky,” said Barr. “This plan is about creating good-paying Kentucky jobs, lowering energy costs, and making sure our communities can grow again.”
“There is so much history in Harlan County around our signature Kentucky coal industry,” said Dan Mosley, Judge/Executive of Harlan County. “That’s why preserving Portal 31 is important, to be able to tell the story of mining in Appalachia, a story that is far from being over. Andy Barr’s plan for Kentucky coal means that coal will be at the heart of our future and not just the past. I applaud his vision and am grateful he chose Harlan County, the coal capital of the world, to announce his energy plan.”
“No one will fight harder for Kentucky coal than Andy Barr,” said Senator Phillip Wheeler (R-SD-31), who has defended coal miners in court as an attorney. “Coal miners are proud people who want to work, provide for their families, and lower energy costs for their neighbors. Andy Barr’s plan delivers exactly that—and it puts Kentucky coal back to work.”
“We are ready to work with Andy Barr to maximize the full potential of Kentucky coal. That starts right here with our mine in Harlan County and we were honored that he visited today to see our operation and meet with our miners,” said Jake Hamilton, Superintendent of Operations of Nally and Hamilton Enterprises Inc.
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China’s Coal Will Eat Our AI Lunch: The Electron Gap Is Real
By Frank Clemente and Fred Palmer; Coal is the Cornerstone, LLC.
The cavalier closing of coal power plants has profound negative implications for the economic future of the Western World in an accelerating Digital Age. No country will meet its AI goals without reliable and affordable electricity - the sine qua non of data center operation. The amount of power needed for emerging AI models is beyond any nation’s experience. And the past is a mere prologue compared to the size of the next generation of data centers and the unprecedented demands “ hyperscalers’” will make on electric grids. Several years ago, a new 150 MW data center was a big project. Now, 1,000 MW is common, and even larger proposals are on the horizon.
Titan Face-off: US-China AI Arms Race
As Frank Holmes recently noted in Forbes magazine, the major players in AI are the U.S. and China: “Both superpowers understand that whoever leads in this still burgeoning industry will likely influence global standards, intelligence gathering, national defense, commerce and so much more for decades to come”.
The US aspires to preeminence in Artificial Intelligence. President Trump has stated: “It is the policy of the United States to sustain and enhance America’s global AI dominance”. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright added that “American energy dominance is the prerequisite for achieving and maintaining AI dominance”. Given the willy-nilly closure of coal in the US, Wright’s goal seems like an impossible dream in terms of electricity.
BloombergNEF projects US data center power demand could reach 106 GW in 2035 from about 25 GW of operating facilities last year. Where will America get the energy required to meet this dramatic increase over the next decade? The US has already dug itself into a hole by blithely closing over 300 baseload coal power plants since 2010 and reducing coal generation from a national 45% to 16%. The underlying reasons for this closure of plants have been aggressive and well-funded political activism, overzealous policy makers and ill-conceived Renewable Portfolio Standards. China carries no such burdens as they approach Artificial Intelligence with the mindset of the Manhattan Project.
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