1. United States
2. Va.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to oppose the recent executive order directing the Pentagon to purchase electricity from coal-fired power plants through long-term contracts. This policy forces our military to buy the most expensive electricity available on the American market with taxpayer dollars while undermining both fiscal responsibility and public health. The cost disparity is staggering. According to Lazard analysis, new onshore wind costs $27-$53 per megawatt-hour while coal costs $65-$159. The high end of coal is more than six times the low end of wind. Energy Innovation's Coal Cost Crossover analysis found that 99% of existing U.S. coal plants now cost more to operate than building brand-new solar or wind from scratch. Locking the Pentagon into long-term contracts for coal electricity is an indefensible use of defense funds. The public health consequences are equally troubling. A landmark 2023 study published in Science tracked every coal plant in the United States over two decades and found that 460,000 American deaths were attributable to fine particulate matter from coal-fired power plants between 1999 and 2020. The study also determined that coal particulate matter is 2.1 times deadlier than PM2.5 from other sources. Even with today's reduced coal fleet, remaining plants still cause an estimated 3,800 deaths per year. This policy benefits an industry that employs approximately 44,000 people total according to the EIA's Annual Coal Report. For context, Arby's employs about 80,000 people, nearly twice as many as the entire coal industry. Meanwhile, clean energy employs 3.56 million Americans and is growing at three times the rate of the overall economy. I urge you to publicly oppose this executive order and work to prevent the Pentagon from entering into these contracts. Our military budget should support national security and fiscal responsibility, not subsidize a failing industry that cannot compete on price and continues to harm public health.