Trump Approves $700 Million in Bid to Revive US Coal Industry
President Donald Trump said he will direct hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars toward reviving the U.S. coal industry, funding new power plants, supporting existing operations and helping build an export terminal in California.
The plan includes $500 million through the Cold War-era Defense Production Act and is the latest effort to boost coal mining and coal-fired power despite opposition from environmental groups, which argue coal contributes to climate change and air pollution.
The move is part of Trump’s broader second-term push to increase U.S. oil, gas and coal production. It follows earlier efforts to keep some coal plants operating despite planned closures, expand coal leasing on federal land and purchase electricity for the Pentagon from coal-fired plants.
According to a White House official, $425 million in DPA funding will go to more than a dozen coal plants, including facilities operated by Duke Energy, Hallador Energy, Oklahoma Gas & Electric and a subsidiary of American Electric Power.
Another $75 million will support the proposed West Gateway export terminal in Oakland, California, which could ship up to 12 million tons of U.S. coal annually overseas. The administration is also awarding about $185 million in separate Energy Department grants to build two additional plants in Alaska and West Virginia and restart a shuttered facility in Maryland.
