During the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump promised to end "the war on coal" and scale back Obama-era regulations that hampered the coal industry, even as the market for coal hits 40 year lows while wind and solar energy set records for growth. Still, many current and former miners are optimistic about coal's future — and that hope may be hampering the economy. As Mike Sylvester, the 33-year-old son of a coal miner, told Reuters: "I think there is a coal comeback."
Last month, the Trump administration announced a proposal that would prop up the coal industry by requiring utility companies to buy electricity from coal and nuclear plants at prices that would guarantee a profit, even if the utility companies had cheaper alternatives on the table. Although 2017 has seen minor increases in coal output and hiring, utility companies have announced the closure of more than 14 coal-fired power plants since Trump's inauguration.
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