Trump uses – President Donald Trump announced $700 million in Defense Production Act grants for more than a dozen existing coal plants, framing it as “clean, beautiful coal.” The money is set to support a new export terminal in Oakland, California, restart a facility in Ma
On Thursday, President Donald Trump stood at a White House event and promised “historic action” to cut energy prices—while directing $700 million toward coal-fired power plants using wartime presidential authority.
“We’re taking historic action to bring down the price of energy and the cost of living for all Americans with the power of clean, beautiful coal,” he said at a press conference.
The grants are being delivered through the Defense Production Act. a Cold War-era statute designed to accelerate American industrial output in times of national need. Trump said the funding would flow to more than a dozen existing coal plants across the United States. including facilities capable of exporting coal.
“As a result of the $700 million investment that I’m announcing today, we will protect 14 coal plants and 42 coalmines, a tremendous number, and build two new coal plants and one massive new export terminal,” Trump said.
The White House plan is explicitly tied to coal’s expansion in global markets. The funds will be used to bring a new coal export terminal online in Oakland, California, and to restart an existing facility in Maryland.
In addition to those projects, Trump said the money would keep coal-fired power plants online across 10 states—West Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Indiana, Tennessee, Arkansas, Arizona, Oklahoma, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. Each of those states, Trump said, voted for him in the election.
“We won them all,” he said.
The two new coal plants Trump promised would be located in Alaska and West Virginia. Thursday’s event drew supportive governors and lawmakers from coal-rich states including Wyoming and West Virginia.
The announcement landed as part of a broader push by the Trump administration to revive coal. even as critics argue the plan deepens health and climate harm. In the past year. the administration has doled out hundreds of millions of dollars to the coal industry. signed orders forcing ratepayers to pay extra for aging plants to stay open. and dismantled environmental rules that limit toxins from coal leaching into Americans’ shared air and water.
The administration’s efforts to rebrand coal have also extended into culture. Trump’s team created a new mascot with giant eyes, called Coalie, and social media posts featuring an image of a lump of coal wearing sunglasses as if it were on the TV show “Love Island.”
“You’re not allowed to say ‘coal’ within the Trump administration unless it’s preceded by the words ‘clean, beautiful,’” Trump said at the press conference. “Complicates our life, but it’s good.”
Critics say that phrasing clashes with the real-world impacts of coal. Coal, they argue, is not clean. It is described as the most carbon-dense fossil fuel and a leading cause of the climate crisis when burned. The same criticism centers on health: coal also releases tiny toxic particles that miners face and that critics say contribute to widespread respiratory and heart health problems across the United States. Research cited in the report estimates that as many as 460,000 deaths in the U.S. from 1999 to 2020 were attributable to air pollution from coal plants alone.
Environmental groups attacked Thursday’s decision. Patrick Drupp. climate policy director of the Sierra Club. said in response to the aid: “It is disgusting and reprehensible that the president of the United States is giving away our taxpayer dollars to deadly and expensive coal plants that will make Americans sicker and drive up electricity prices even more. ”.
He added that the handout “betrays everything Donald Trump promised and only serves his big coal buddies who stroke his ego and hand him shiny trophies.”
Trump, for his part, argued the coalition of pro-coal actions would lower energy bills. He also claimed wind power is “the most expensive energy,” while experts say coal plants are more expensive to build and operate than renewable power sources.
The administration’s coal revival. critics say. has run alongside attempts to slow the growth of clean energy such as solar and wind. The report notes that the number of people working in coal has declined by more than 90 percent over the past century. and that U.S. coal production is currently less than half of what it was in 2008. It also points to how coal has lost ground both as a fuel for electricity and as an input for manufacturing materials such as iron and steel.
Gas, described as cheap and abundant, has helped displace coal from power grids, and cheaper renewable energy has continued to take off in the U.S. despite the administration’s efforts to curb it.
“What’s next, a taxpayer bailout to build new phone booths?” said Kit Kennedy, a senior climate campaigner at the Natural Resources Defense Council, describing the new round of support for coal. “This is going to mean higher bills and dirtier air. What a waste.
“Propping up coal billionaires with taxpayer money is one more way for the Trump administration to put polluters first and put the rest of us at risk.”
The coal industry welcomed the move. It argues that increasing coal production will help the U.S. meet a historic spike in electricity demand tied to the surging artificial intelligence sector. “Coal generation shields consumers from the impacts of volatile energy prices and supply challenges. ” said Rich Nolan. chief executive of the National Mining Association.
The Environmental Protection Agency also announced plans to change an Obama-era emissions reductions plan that would have shuttered the Dave Johnston Unit 3 power plant in Wyoming.
Trump used Thursday’s event to criticize the Obama and Biden years for what he described as delays in coal approvals. “Under four years of Sleepy Joe Biden and the radical left Democrats in Congress. not a single permit was approved for a new coal mining project. but in over one year of our administration. we’ve already approved 76 permits for clean. beautiful coal. ” he said.
Trump Defense Production Act coal clean beautiful coal Oakland export terminal Maryland coal plant restart Sierra Club Sierra Club climate policy director Patrick Drupp National Mining Association Rich Nolan Natural Resources Defense Council Kit Kennedy EPA Dave Johnston Unit 3 Wyoming emissions plan
So we’re using “wartime powers” for coal now? Wild.
Wait I thought coal was getting phased out, like that’s the whole deal. And “clean beautiful coal” sounds like marketing speak, not clean. How is shipping coal to Oakland supposed to lower my energy bill?
Defense Production Act… isn’t that for making weapons and stuff? I’m not saying it’s always bad, but coal plants already exist so why the wartime thing lol. Also didn’t Ma On restart somewhere else?? I feel like they’re just rebranding subsidies.
This is exactly why nobody trusts the government. They say it’ll cut energy prices and “cost of living” but it’s for coal exports. Oakland terminal, restarting plant, 14 plants and 42 coalmines—sounds like more jobs for somebody not me. Also coal isn’t clean, like at all, so idk how they get away with calling it “beautiful.”