Trump announces $700m coal package using wartime powers

Donald Trump has announced a $700m federal package aimed at supporting the US coal industry, using wartime powers to direct funding to existing plants, new construction and an export terminal. He made the announcement at the White House on Thursday, describing it as an effort to lower energy costs and living expenses. The plan comes as the administration links energy policy to the economic effects of the war with Iran.

Sponsored

Trump said the package would use authority under the Defense Production Act, a Cold War-era law that gives the president broad powers to support industries considered important to national security. He said the investment would protect 14 coal plants and 42 coalmines, while also funding two new coal plants and one new export terminal. According to the announcement, $500m of federal funds would go towards saving 14 existing coal plants and opening a new export terminal in California.

A further $200m from the Department of Energy would be used to build new coal plants in Alaska and West Virginia. Trump said the new plants would be the first built in the US since 2013. He also said the California export terminal, planned for Oakland, would create more than 1,400 jobs, and that the wider package would support around 14,000 jobs.

The coal plants named in the plan are in Kentucky, North Carolina, Indiana, Tennessee, Arkansas, Arizona, Oklahoma, North Dakota, Wisconsin and West Virginia. The announcement is significant because it places coal policy at the centre of a national-security argument at a time of higher energy prices. Trump said the package would save American consumers $50bn in new energy generation costs that he said would otherwise be passed on in higher bills.

Sponsored

He also linked the move to the war with Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for global oil and gas supplies, which has helped push up energy prices. The move also reflects a broader debate over the future of coal in the US. Coal has been in long-term decline as utilities have shifted towards other energy sources, and the plan to build new plants would mark a break from recent construction trends.

The administration framed the investment as support for domestic energy security, while critics of coal have long argued that the fuel is costly and polluting. The announcement did not provide details on how the projects would be sequenced or which companies would carry them out. What remains unclear is how quickly the funding can be deployed and whether the projects will face legal, regulatory or commercial obstacles.

It is also not yet clear how the California export terminal and the new plants in Alaska and West Virginia will be approved and financed beyond the federal commitment. The administration has not said when construction would begin, and the practical impact on consumer bills will depend on how the projects proceed.

#coal #energypolicy #DefenseProductionAct #WhiteHouse #DepartmentofEnergy

Sponsored