Trump expected to announce $700 million in new support for struggling coal industry
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is once again looking for ways to step up the fight US coal industryIt is expected to spend about $700 million to support coal-fired power plants and coal exports, an announcement made Thursday.
A White House official said the administration will use authority under the Cold War-era national defense law to support 13 coal plants across the country and help build coal plants in Alaska and West Virginia, the first new U.S. coal plants since 2013. The money will also support the restart of a coal-fired power plant in Maryland and the construction of a long-delayed coal export terminal in Oakland, California.
Together, the announcements will support or create more than 14,000 jobs in the coal, construction, rail and maritime industries, a White House official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss details ahead of Trump’s expected announcement at the White House on Thursday.
Trump is expected to be joined by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin on Thursday.
The announcement is Trump’s latest move to reverse a years-long decline in the US coal industry. The administration said it would do this last fall Open 13 million acres of federal land will provide $625 million for coal mining Recommissioning or modernizing coal-fired power plants. Trump published administrative orders Shortly after taking office, he has been trying to revive coal, a reliable but polluting energy source that has long been dwindling due to environmental regulations and competition from cheap natural gas.
Bloomberg News first reported the new funds for coal.
Under Trump’s order, the Energy Department required fossil fuel power plants in Michigan, Indiana, Colorado and Washington state to continue operating beyond their retirement dates. Increasing energy demand of the USA Amid the growth in data centers, artificial intelligence and electric cars. To allow these efforts to continue, the Department of Energy extended short-term orders and ordered oil and gas-fired facilities in Maryland and Pennsylvania to operate beyond their planned retirement dates.
Wright said the administration is using emergency orders to keep aging coal-fired plants running helped prevent major outages in brutally cold weather engulfed most of the country In late January and early February.
Environmental groups have condemned the Trump administration’s latest push to boost coal, including curbs on renewable energy and a permit freeze. offshore wind projectsfinish clean energy tax credits and blocking wind and solar projects on federal lands.
“Supporting coal billionaires with taxpayer money is just another way the Trump administration is prioritizing polluters and putting the rest of us at risk,” said Kit Kennedy, executive director of the Natural Resources Defense Council. “What’s next, a taxpayer bailout to build new phone booths?”
Kennedy and other critics said Trump’s order would lead to higher electricity bills and dirtier air. “The best thing for our air, climate and electric bills is to let these facilities retire in peace,” he said.
Coal once provided more than half of U.S. electricity generation, but its share has fallen from about 45% as recently as 2010 to about 15% by 2024. Natural gas provides about 43% of U.S. electricity, with the remainder coming from nuclear power and renewable sources such as wind, solar and hydroelectricity.
U.S. coal exports fell in the first year of Trump’s second term, according to the Energy Information Administration, largely because less coal was shipped to China after China imposed reciprocal duties on American products in response to broad tariffs announced by Trump last year. Global coal demand has risen to record levels in recent years but is expected to remain stable or decline in the coming years, according to the International Energy Agency.
With abundant coal reserves around the world, it is difficult for US companies to expand into new markets.
Trump is expected to invoke the Defense Production Act of 1950, which gives presidents broad authority over industries related to national security.
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Associated Press writer Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana, contributed to this report.
