Ward Appointed to National Coal Council

American Coal Ash Association Executive Director Thomas Adams, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, John Ward, and Eco Material Technologies Executive Vice President Danny Gray at the January 15, 2026, first meeting of the reconstituted National Coal Council.

Ward Appointed to National Coal Council

U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright appointed John Ward to serve on the newly reconstituted National Coal Council in his capacity as Executive Director of the National Coal Transportation Association. Ward has served on previous iterations of the Coal Council as appointed by two other U.S. Energy Secretaries.

Originally established in 1984, the Council is a federal advisory committee that provides policy advice and recommendations to the U.S. Department of Energy. Ward was serving as Vice Chair of the Council when the Biden Administration allowed its charter to lapse. The Trump Administration in 2025 reconstituted the Council as a 54-member body.

Secretary Wright, U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Deputy Administrator David Fotouhi presided over the January 15, 2026, first meeting of the new Council at the White House. Secretary Wright announced he will assign the Council to undertake two initial studies focused on maintaining and expanding the domestic coal-fueled power generation fleet and expanding U.S. coal export capacity. DOE’s news release also prominently mentioned the Department’s interest in supporting deployment of mineral extraction technology from coal ash and supporting commercialization of coal ash conversion technologies.