Presidential Determination Pursuant to Section 303 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as Amended, on Coal Supply Chains and Baseload Power Generation Capacity
SUBJECT: Presidential Determination Pursuant to Section 303 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as Amended, on Coal Supply Chains and Baseload Power Generation Capacity
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MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY
SUBJECT: Presidential Determination Pursuant to Section 303 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as Amended, on Coal Supply Chains and Baseload Power Generation Capacity
On January 20, 2025, I issued Executive Order 14156 (Declaring a National Energy Emergency), under the National Emergencies Act. That order found that America’s inadequate energy production, transportation, refining, and generation capacity constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the Nation’s economy, national security, and foreign policy. It emphasized that our Nation’s current inadequate and intermittent energy supply leaves us vulnerable to hostile foreign actors and poses an imminent and growing threat to the United States’ prosperity and national security.
Consistent with that declaration, I find that ensuring reliable coal supply chains and baseload power generation capacity is essential to United States national defense. Coal mining and logistics, terminals, stockpile, and power generation facilities provide indispensable resilience to our power grids that cannot be replaced. Without sufficient coal-fired baseload power, the United States will lack the stable electricity required to support defense installations, industrial expansion, and the high-energy demands of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence.