DOE shrugs off calls to ease coal ban, bets bigger on RE

The Department of Energy (DOE) is drawing a hard line on coal, insisting the country’s six-year-old moratorium will stay in place despite mounting pressure to approve new coal-fired power plants amid growing electricity demand.

In reaffirming the policy, the DOE said Friday there is “no compelling need” to lift the coal moratorium, especially due to stronger bet on renewable energy (RE) expansion.

The agency added that the pipeline of already-approved coal projects, alongside the ongoing rollout of cleaner energy, is sufficient to keep the grid stable in the coming years.

“At present, the DOE sees no compelling need to suspend or lift the coal moratorium,” the department said.

The moratorium, first imposed in December 2020, bars new coal power projects from securing DOE endorsements after October 2020.

Projects that had already obtained Certificates of Non-Coverage before the policy took effect, however, are still allowed to proceed.

Instead of reopening the coal pipeline, the DOE said it will accelerate RE development while reviewing older and previously proposed coal projects, including plants that are aging, inefficient, prone to unplanned outages, or may no longer be feasible.

“Facilities found to be unreliable may be considered for voluntary retirement, re-purposing, or transition to cleaner energy sources,” the DOE said.

The DOE also pointed to a clarificatory advisory issued in October 2025 that narrowed the possible exceptions to the moratorium. These include projects serving off-grid or island areas, facilities tied to the mining and processing of critical minerals, own-use projects inside economic zones, and on-grid developments deemed necessary to prevent an imminent power supply crisis.

“The DOE remains firm in its policy direction and will continue to pursue initiatives that ensure the reliability, affordability, and security of the country’s electricity supply through a balanced energy mix,” the agency said.