Trump orders Pentagon to buy electricity generated by coal | Trump’s order is the latest move by US administration to boost fossil fuel industry despite climate change concerns.

>United States President Donald Trump has ordered the Pentagon to buy electricity generated by coal, his latest effort to boost demand for the fossil fuel amid its declining cost competitiveness and climate change concerns.

>In an executive order signed on Wednesday, Trump directed the US Department of Defence to enter into long-term purchase agreements with coal-fired plants and prioritise the “preservation and strategic utilisation” of “coal-based energy assets”.

>Trump’s order did not specify how much energy the Pentagon would purchase or under what financial terms.

>“You do so much,” Trump said at a White House event attended by coal industry executives and miners.

>“You heat our homes, fuel our factories, and turn natural resources into American riches and dreams,” he said.

>Trump also announced that the US Department of Energy would invest $175m to upgrade six coal plants in North Carolina, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia.

>“The most important people here today are those who get their hands a little bit dirty to keep America running at full speed – our front line coal workers,” Trump said.