The Trump administration is giving states a pathway to keep coal power plants running, and many will likely seize the opportunity.

The window opened Tuesday when the Environmental Protection Agency revealed its plan to scrap President Barack Obama's greenhouse gas regulations for the nation's power plants. The Trump administration intends to replace the rules with a policy that will make it easier for states to continue burning coal.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday suggested the rule would help keep the nation's embattled coal plants online, advancing his goal of reviving the coal industry.

"We're canceling Obama's illegal anti-coal destroying regulations, the so-called Clean Power Plan," he said during a rally in Charleston, West Virginia. "Just today we announced our new Affordable Clean Energy proposal that will help our coal-fired power plants and save consumers — you, me, everybody — billions and billions of dollars."

There are at least 16 states that oppose Trump's move, but many governors will welcome the reversal. More than two dozen U.S. states took part in a lawsuit to overturn Obama's Clean Power Plan.

Much of that opposition came from regions where coal plants are fighting to maintain their foothold: Appalachia, the Great Plains, the Midwest, the Southeast and Texas.