Overview
- The administration publicly unveiled a $700 million package, which it says will modernize existing plants, fund mine expansion and support an export terminal for U.S. coal.
- Media reports give a breakdown of the funds as $425 million to 13 existing coal plants, $185 million for two new plants in Alaska and West Virginia, and $75 million for the proposed West Gateway terminal in Oakland, though some allocations remain reported rather than fully documented in government releases.
- The White House plans to use the Defense Production Act of 1950, a Cold War–era law that lets the president direct production in industries deemed vital to national security, as the legal basis for the program.
- Regulatory changes already announced include an EPA relaxation of nitrogen-oxide limits for fossil-fuel power plants, and the National Mining Association and other industry groups have praised the move as a jobs and supply-chain measure.
- Environmental groups such as the Sierra Club and NRDC have condemned the plan as a taxpayer-funded subsidy for a high-emissions industry and have signaled legal challenges, while coal’s share of U.S. power has fallen to under one-fifth and no new U.S. coal plants have opened since 2013.