WASHINGTON 

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday that directs the Department of Defense to purchase energy from coal-burning plants as he seeks to shore up the flagging industry.

The order "directs the Department of War to work directly with coal plants on the new power purchasing agreements, ensuring that we have more reliable power, and stronger and more resilient grid power," Trump said, using his preferred name to refer to the Defense Department.

"We're going to be buying a lot of coal through the military now, and it's going to be less expensive, and actually much more effective than what we have been using for many, many years, and again, with the environmental progress that's been made on coal, it's going to be just as clean," he said.

"Under our leadership, we're becoming a massive energy exporter," he added.

Trump has long sought to prop up the American coal industry, but it has long been in decline as other sources of electricity continue to gain market share.

Data from the US Energy Information Administration predicts a 2% decline in coal-based electricity production this winter compared to the same time last year. Output from solar and hydropower, meanwhile, are set to dramatically increase by 14% while wind is slated to jump by 4%.

Overall, the federal government agency forecasts a 7% year-on-year decline for coal-based electricity production.

Amid the dire estimates, Trump directed the Energy Department to send funding to coal plants in West Virginia, Ohio and North Carolina "to keep them online and keep those plans open."

It is unclear what form of payment he was directing the Energy Department to make, but he alleged that the coal industry "requires no subsidies, because you make money with coal."

"Coal is one of the lowest-priced energy sources, and it's probably considered by almost everybody to be the most reliable," he said.