February 17, 2025 -  The West Virginia Coal Association thanked President Donald Trump’s recently nominated energy secretary for his support of coal-fired power plants.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who was previously chief executive of the Colorado-based fracking company Liberty Energy, recently told Bloomberg News that shutting coal plants has made electricity “more expensive and our grid less stable.”

Chris Hamilton, president of the West Virginia Coal Association, said Wright’s remarks show the new leader of the U.S. Energy Department understands the importance of coal in powering the nation.

Chris Hamilton

“Secretary Wright’s comments reflect a clear understanding of the critical role coal plays in providing affordable and reliable energy,” he said. “Our state has consistently enjoyed some of the lowest electricity rates in the nation thanks to our reliance on coal.”

Wright was confirmed to serve as U.S Energy secretary on Feb. 4 in a 59-38 vote that included support from U.S. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Jim Justice.

During Wright’s Senate confirmation hearing, Justice asked the nominee whether he supports “embracing all the energy sources.”

Wright said he and Trump share the view that “energy is not just a sector of the economy; it is the economy.”

“Energy is core — it’s central,” Wright said. “We want energy from all sources we can that can add to the pile of affordable, reliable, secure American energy.”

In November, Jim Crews, current board chair of the Gas and Oil Association of West Virginia, told WV News that Wright had been scheduled to speak during the organization’s annual Winter Meeting at the end of February.

“His company provides frack services to some of largest customers, including Antero and now Expand Energy, which was Chesapeake and Southwestern,” Crews said. “So they’re pretty active in the northern part of West Virginia.”

Crews said he expects Wright to champion policies and initiatives tailored toward meeting the oil and gas industry’s needs.

“We’re always happy about an oil and gas man having the top job,” he said. “You can probably be certain that you won’t see any regulations coming from him that are detrimental to the industry.”

In 2022, West Virginia was the second-largest coal producer in the nation, after Wyoming, and accounted for 14% of U.S. total coal production, according to date from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

West Virginia also had 15% of recoverable coal reserves at producing mines, the third-largest state reserve base in the nation, after Wyoming and Illinois.

In 2022, coal-fired electric power plants accounted for 89% of West Virginia’s total electricity net generation. Renewable energy resources — primarily hydroelectric power and wind energy — contributed 7% and natural gas provided about 4%.