The Trump administration has announced coordinated actions across three cabinet-level agencies to help boost the role of coal in the country’s energy system.
The Department of Energy announced a $625 million investment to reinvigorate the coal industry by boosting production and supporting coal communities, which is in line with executive orders President Donald Trump signed earlier in 2025. (See Trump Seeks to Keep Coal Plants Open, Attacks State Climate Policies.)
“Beautiful, clean coal will be essential to powering America’s reindustrialization and winning the AI race,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Sept. 29 in prepared remarks. “These funds will help keep our nation’s coal plants operating and will be vital to keeping electricity prices low and the lights on without interruption. Coal built the greatest industrial engine the world has ever known, and with President Trump’s leadership, it will help do so again.”
The funds include $350 million for coal plant recommissioning and retrofits that the department said will help modernize power plants and provide near-term reliability and capacity. Another $175 million is going to rural capacity and energy affordability projects that burn coal.
DOE also is putting $50 million toward the development and implementation of advanced wastewater management systems that demonstrate scalable, cost-effective systems that can extend coal plant life and cut operational costs. Another $25 million is going to help coal plants implement dual-fuel capability, and $25 million will go toward developing and testing natural gas co-firing systems.
Meanwhile, EPA is providing steam electric power generation more time to comply with existing effluent limitations guidelines under the Clean Water Act to help meet growing demand. The action is expected to save $200 million annually in electricity costs, the agency said.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin also announced an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking looking into changes to the Clean Air Act’s Regional Haze Rule. EPA said that after years of feedback, “it is clear that the regional haze program is broken and needs significant revisions.”
And the Department of the Interior announced it is opening 13.1 million acres of federal lands to lease for coal mining, lowering the royalty rates for mining and fast-tracking projects around the country.
“By reducing the royalty rate for coal, increasing coal acres available for leasing and unlocking critical minerals from mine waste, we are strengthening our economy, protecting national security and ensuring that communities from Montana to Alabama benefit from good-paying jobs,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement. “Washington doesn’t build prosperity; American workers and entrepreneurs do, and we’re giving them the tools to succeed.”
Reactions to the three agencies’ actions were mixed, with those who rely on coal plants praising them for helping to meet rising demand affordably, and others including leading environmentalists saying they would increase pollution and power prices for consumers.
“As electricity demand skyrockets, smart energy policies that help keep the lights on are more important than ever,” NRECA CEO Jim Matheson said in a statement. “Today’s announcements give electric co-ops important flexibility to reliably meet growing energy needs at a cost local families and businesses can afford. In recent years, misguided energy policies have forced essential power plants off the grid, while electricity demand surged. We thank the administration for moving swiftly to respond to growing energy needs with an emphasis on new tools, flexibility and a pro-energy policy agenda.”
Environmental Defense Fund Director and Lead Counsel Ted Kelly said that subsidizing coal would saddle families with the cost of old power plants from the last century.
“This is not how you lower household costs, promote healthy communities, win the AI race or stay competitive in the 21st century,” he said in a statement. “Today, solar, wind and battery storage are the cheapest and fastest ways to bring new power to communities and businesses. It makes no sense to cut off your best, most affordable options while doubling down on the most expensive ones.”
