Trump DOE Funds $775M for Two New Coal Plants, 12 Extensions
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- The Department of Energy announced $425 million to extend the life of 12 coal plants across West Virginia, Arkansas, Arizona, Kentucky, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Wisconsin, including $50 million for Wheeling Power's Mitchell Plant in Moundsville, WV.
- An additional $350 million is earmarked for new coal projects: building plants in Anchorage, Alaska, and Mount Storm, WV; upgrading a facility in Guayama, Puerto Rico; and restarting a Cumberland, Maryland plant that closed in 2024.
- Energy Secretary Chris Wright described the funding — including $75 million for a new Oakland, California coal export terminal the city has previously opposed — as advancing 'American energy dominance' and 'strengthening U.S. energy security.'
- Earthjustice attorney Michael Lenoff criticized the use of the Defense Production Act to fund the projects, calling it unreasonable to claim national defense needs 'an unreliable, old, expensive' way of producing electricity while throttling solar, wind and storage.
- Coal's share of U.S. electricity has plummeted from more than 50% in 1990 to about 17% by 2025, and researchers cited in the article found coal-attributable PM2.5 deaths among Medicare patients fell from 25% (pre-2009) to 7% (post-2012) as coal use declined.
- The Trump administration separately invoked emergency authority to block the retirement of a coal plant in Orlando, Florida, this month, while the EPA advanced rollbacks of coal ash protections and the White House continued divestment from renewables.
- North Dakota's Mercer County has two coal-fired units at Antelope Valley Station slated for DOE-funded upgrades, though Commissioner Casey Voigt said the proliferation of data center proposals is 'a lot bigger issue' there than the coal industry.
Why it matters: The Trump administration is channeling $775 million in coal funding through the Defense Production Act as coal's share of U.S. electricity has fallen from over 50% in 1990 to 17% by 2025, and as researchers document elevated risks of cardiovascular disease, lung cancer and premature death for communities near coal plants.
