{"id":614706,"date":"2026-06-07T22:40:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T22:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=614706"},"modified":"2026-06-07T22:40:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T22:40:00","slug":"trump-admin-announces-850mm-to-modernize-us-coal-capacity-build-2-new-plants-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=614706","title":{"rendered":"Trump Admin Announces $850MM To Modernize US Coal Capacity, Build 2 New Plants"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden\">Trump Admin Announces $850MM To Modernize US Coal Capacity, Build 2 New Plants<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item\">\n<p><em>By Robert Walton of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.utilitydive.com\/news\/doe-announces-850m-modernize-coal-capacity-build-new-plants\/822109\/?utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=Issue:%202026-06-05%20Utility%20Dive%20Newsletter%20%5Bissue:85734%5D&amp;utm_term=Utility%20Dive\">UtilityDive<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>The Trump administration approved 76 coal-related permits in more than a year of efforts to revive the flagging fuel and execute an agenda of \u201cenergy dominance.\u201d His latest attempt includes tapping Defense Production Act funding to expand the industry.<\/p>\n<p><a data-image-external-href=\"\" data-image-href=\"\/s3\/files\/inline-images\/trump%20utility.jpg?itok=2NSa_cNn\" data-link-option=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/cms.zerohedge.com\/s3\/files\/inline-images\/trump%20utility.jpg?itok=2NSa_cNn\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" data-entity-type=\"file\" data-entity-uuid=\"ebd9de4a-55e1-40db-a5ad-8217e498b406\" data-responsive-image-style=\"inline_images\" height=\"280\" width=\"500\" class=\"inline-images image-style-inline-images\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.zerohedge.com\/s3fs-public\/styles\/inline_image_mobile\/public\/inline-images\/trump%20utility.jpg?itok=2NSa_cNn\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cLast year we prevented 17 GW of coal-powered electricity from going offline. That\u2019s enough power for about 13 million homes, and at a very low price. It\u2019s the lowest price,\u201d Trump said of coal resources.<\/p>\n<p>But critics say the opposite is true. \u201cThis move, along with the President blocking the retirement of old coal plants that are too costly to operate, is making most Americans poorer,\u201d\u00a0Jenkins said. \u201cThis is a total misuse of the Defense Production Act, a giant giftwrapped payout to subsidize and prop up a flailing industry that can no longer compete in the free market.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The coal funding is \u201canother example of Trump ignoring the affordability crisis,\u201d\u00a0Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizen\u2019s energy program, said in a statement. \u201cAbusing emergency authorities to justify subsidies for coal is a waste of taxpayer dollars and a clear giveaway to an absurdly outdated, expensive and dirty fossil fuel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>DOE said it plans to use up to $425 million in Defense Production Act Title III funds <a href=\"https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/hgeo\/defense-production-act-title-iii-project-selections-coal-fleet-projects-and-west-gateway\">to support a dozen coal-plant projects<\/a> and $75 million for the West Gateway Terminal Project, to operate a rail-served marine export terminal. The coal projects include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>$19 million for Arizona Electric Power Cooperative to modernize and extend the operating life the Apache Generating Station near Cochise, Arizona;<\/li>\n<li>$33 million for Duke Energy Kentucky to boost generating capacity at its East Bend Station in Boone County, Kentucky;<\/li>\n<li>$22.5 million for Oklahoma Gas and Electric\u2019s Sooner DCS Modernization Project near Red Rock, Oklahoma, to modernize the facility\u2019s distributed control system to maintain reliability and improve efficiency; and,<\/li>\n<li>$46.3 million for Tennessee Valley Authority to revitalize its Cumberland Fossil Plant in Stewart County, Tennessee, to meet regional demands for dispatchable power.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The West Gateway Terminal Project \u201cwill support continued growth in U.S. coal exports, improve supply chain resilience, and strengthen energy partnerships with allies throughout the Indo-Pacific region,\u201d DOE Under Secretary of Energy Kyle Haustveit said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>In a separate announcement, DOE said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/articles\/energy-department-invest-350-million-build-modernize-and-restart-coal-plants\">four projects will receive up to $350 million<\/a> under the agency\u2019s \u201cRestoring Reliability: Coal Recommissioning and Modernization\u201d initiative, to add or preserve roughly 3.6 GW of coal-fired capacity.<\/p>\n<p><a data-image-external-href=\"\" data-image-href=\"https:\/\/assets.zerohedge.com\/s3fs-public\/inline-images\/apache%20generating%20station%202.jpg?itok=9yWPTd4q\" data-link-option=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/assets.zerohedge.com\/s3fs-public\/inline-images\/apache%20generating%20station%202.jpg?itok=9yWPTd4q\"><\/a><\/p>\n<figure role=\"group\" class=\"caption caption-img inline-images image-style-inline-images\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" data-entity-type=\"file\" data-entity-uuid=\"f9710f7c-ac9a-43f7-b1e8-25a1d9bb92fc\" data-responsive-image-style=\"inline_images\" height=\"313\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.zerohedge.com\/s3fs-public\/styles\/inline_image_mobile\/public\/inline-images\/apache%20generating%20station%202.jpg?itok=9yWPTd4q\" width=\"500\" \/><figcaption><em>Apache Generating Station near Cochise, Arizona;<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>Along with almost 3 GW of new capacity split between Alaska and West Virginia, DOE announced funding for a project in Guayama,\u00a0Puerto Rico, to retrofit and modernize an existing 510-MW coal-fired plant, and another project in Cumberland,\u00a0Maryland, to recommission a 205-MW facility that ceased operations in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>The Anchorage plant will have 1.25 GW of new coal capacity and the West Virginia Energy Campus project will offer 1.6 GW, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/articles\/fact-sheet-energy-department-unleashing-beautiful-clean-coal\">according to a fact sheet<\/a>\u00a0from DOE. They would be the first new U.S. plants to come online since 2013, Trump said.<\/p>\n<p>Also Thursday,\u00a0U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright issued an emergency order directing the Orlando Utilities Commission to ensure that Unit 1 at the coal-fired Stanton Energy Center near Orlando, Florida, remains available to operate. The unit was slated to enter a premature extended cold shutdown this month.\u00a0The order is effective through Sept. 1.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAmericans are upset about high electricity prices,\u201d Wright said at the White House event. \u201cBlame closing existing, reliable, secure plants, and replacing them with subsidized, unreliable plants \u2014 a gauranteed way to drive electricity prices up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But critics say coal plants are expensive to operate and the administration\u2019s efforts are driving U.S. power bills higher. In March, the Sierra Club published analysis showing the Trump administration\u2019s emergency orders to keep six retiring fossil-fueled power plants online have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.utilitydive.com\/news\/doe-202c-cost-235m-coal-sierra-club\/815045\/\">cost ratepayers more than $230 million.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>More emergency orders have been issued since the Sierra Club analysis. Coal supporters, however, say the resources are essential and Trump\u2019s investments will help maintain power grid reliability.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCoal is a critical part of America\u2019s energy security,\u201d America\u2019s Power President and CEO Michelle Bloodworth said in a statement. The group represents the U.S. coal sector.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe United States has approximately 400 years of domestic coal reserves, making it one of the most fuel-secure energy sources available,\u201d Bloodworth said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>      <span class=\"field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden\"><a title=\"View user profile.\" href=\"https:\/\/cms.zerohedge.com\/users\/tyler-durden\" lang=\"\" class=\"username\" xml:lang=\"\">Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden\">Sun, 06\/07\/2026 &#8211; 18:40<\/span><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.zerohedge.com\/s3fs-public\/styles\/inline_image_mobile\/public\/inline-images\/trump%20utility.jpg?itok=2NSa_cNn\" title=\"Trump Admin Announces $850MM To Modernize US Coal Capacity, Build 2 New Plants\" \/><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump Admin Announces $850MM To Modernize US Coal Capacity, Build 2 New Plants By Robert Walton of UtilityDive The Trump administration approved 76 coal-related permits in more than a year of efforts to revive the flagging fuel and execute an agenda of \u201cenergy dominance.\u201d His latest attempt includes tapping Defense Production Act funding to expand&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=614706\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Trump Admin Announces $850MM To Modernize US Coal Capacity, Build 2 New Plants<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":614702,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[17,22,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-614706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-border-security","category-immigration","category-immigration-reform","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=614706"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614706\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/614702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=614706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=614706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=614706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}