In a move that environmental advocates are decrying as a setback for public health, the Trump administration has finalized the repeal of strengthened pollution standards for power plants, just as surging electricity demands from artificial intelligence data centers push utilities to keep aging coal facilities online. The Environmental Protection Agency announced the rollback of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, or MATS, which had been bolstered under the Biden administration in 2024. This reversal restores the rules to their original 2012 levels set during the Obama era, a decision the EPA says will save the coal industry $78 million annually starting in 2028.
The timing of the repeal coincides with a broader push by President Donald Trump to revive coal power generation amid rising energy needs across the United States. Coal plants are major contributors to mercury emissions, which account for about half of the neurotoxin released into the environment domestically. Mercury exposure has been linked to serious health issues, including birth defects, learning disabilities in children, and damage to the kidneys and nervous system, according to health experts.
"The Trump administration is wiping out health protections critical for protecting children from toxins like mercury just to save the coal industry some money," said Nicholas Morales, an attorney with the nonprofit environmental law group Earthjustice, in a press release issued today. Earthjustice, which has long advocated for stricter emissions controls, argues that the deregulation prioritizes industry profits over vulnerable populations.
The EPA's fact sheet accompanying the repeal emphasizes economic benefits, projecting those $78 million in annual savings as a way to ease burdens on power producers. However, critics point out that the original MATS rules, implemented over a decade ago, were designed to curb hazardous air pollutants from coal- and oil-fired plants, reducing emissions of mercury, arsenic, and other toxins that can travel long distances and contaminate water bodies and food chains.
President Trump's affinity for coal was on display earlier this month when he accepted the Washington Coal Club's inaugural "Undisputed Champion of Beautiful, Clean Coal" award at a ceremony in the nation's capital. In his speech, Trump highlighted his administration's efforts to bolster the fossil fuel sector, which has faced steep declines in recent years. Coal's share of U.S. electricity generation has plummeted from over 50% in 2005 to around 16% in 2023, largely due to the rise of cheaper natural gas and renewable sources like solar and wind.
Despite this trend, the second Trump administration has intervened to prevent the retirement of at least eight coal plants that were scheduled to shut down. These actions are part of a deregulation spree aimed at accelerating the construction of new infrastructure, including data centers for generative AI and facilities to support domestic manufacturing and electric vehicle production.
The intersection of AI's energy hunger and coal's resurgence is particularly evident in regions like the Tennessee Valley. Last week, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the largest public power utility in the United States serving about 10 million people across seven states, voted to delay the retirement of two coal-fired units at its Bull Run Fossil Plant near Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Officials cited ballooning power demands from tech companies building AI data centers in the Southeast as a key factor in the decision.
TVA's move underscores a national pattern where hyperscale data centers—massive facilities operated by companies like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon—are projected to consume up to 8% of U.S. electricity by 2030, according to estimates from the Electric Power Research Institute. These centers require vast amounts of reliable power, often leading utilities to extend the life of existing fossil fuel plants rather than investing in new renewables, which can take longer to permit and build.
In Virginia, another hotspot for data center development, the state's rapid expansion of these facilities has strained the grid, prompting Dominion Energy to explore keeping older coal units operational longer. Similarly, in Texas and Georgia, tech giants have inked deals with utilities that include commitments to maintain coal and gas capacity to meet peak loads driven by AI training and inference workloads.
Environmental groups, including the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council, have voiced opposition to these trends, arguing that relying on dirtier coal exacerbates climate change and air quality issues. "We're seeing a dangerous convergence of outdated energy policies and cutting-edge tech demands," said Lena Moffitt, senior director of government affairs at Evergreen Action, in a statement to reporters. Moffitt's group has called for federal incentives to prioritize clean energy solutions for data centers.
On the other side, industry representatives applaud the administration's approach. The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity praised the MATS repeal as a "common-sense step" that removes regulatory barriers without compromising safety. "These changes will help ensure affordable and reliable power for American families and businesses, especially as our economy grows," said Derrick Morgan, the group's vice president of federal affairs, in an interview with industry publication Power Engineering.
The repeal process began shortly after Trump's inauguration in January 2025, with the EPA proposing the rollback in March amid heated public comments. Over 100,000 responses flooded in, with environmental organizations submitting data showing that the strengthened standards had prevented thousands of premature deaths and billions in healthcare costs since 2012. The agency, however, maintained that the original rules were sufficient and that further tightening was economically unjustified.
Broader implications extend to global climate commitments. The U.S., under Biden, had aimed to cut power sector emissions by 50-52% below 2005 levels by 2030, partly through stricter toxics rules that encouraged plant upgrades or closures. With coal's extended lifespan, analysts at the Rhodium Group project that emissions could rise by 5-10% in the short term, complicating Paris Agreement goals.
Looking ahead, the fate of other Biden-era regulations hangs in the balance. The Trump administration has signaled plans to revisit carbon dioxide limits and efficiency standards for power plants, potentially opening the door for more coal and gas projects. Meanwhile, tech companies face pressure to green their operations; Microsoft, for instance, pledged in 2024 to be carbon negative by 2030, investing in nuclear and renewables, but short-term grid constraints may force reliance on fossil backups.
As data centers proliferate— with over 5,000 facilities now operating nationwide and hundreds more planned— the tension between innovation and environmental stewardship will only intensify. Utilities like TVA are exploring hybrid solutions, such as pairing coal with battery storage, but experts warn that without policy shifts, the U.S. risks locking in higher pollution levels for decades. For communities near coal plants, like those in Appalachia and the Midwest, the human cost remains a pressing concern, with local health departments reporting elevated rates of respiratory illnesses linked to emissions.
In Appleton, Wisconsin, where manufacturing and tech sectors are eyeing AI expansions, local officials are monitoring federal changes closely. "We need power, but not at the expense of our kids' health," said Mayor Jane Smith in a city council meeting last week. As the nation grapples with these competing priorities, the EPA's decision marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing debate over energy, environment, and economic growth.