Washington, June 4 (IANS) President Donald Trump is expected to announce what the White House described as “three historic, beautiful, clean coal announcements” focused on preserving existing coal-fired power plants, expanding coal exports and supporting new coal-fired generation projects, according to a White House official.
The measures, set to be unveiled in the Oval Office Thursday afternoon (early morning India time), include federal funding to extend the life of ageing coal plants, support construction of a long-delayed coal export terminal in California and help finance new coal-fired generation projects in the United States.
Trump is expected to be joined by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin.
The three initiatives together will support and create more than 14,000 jobs in the coal, construction, rail and maritime sectors while helping avoid an estimated USD 50 billion in new electricity generation costs that otherwise could be passed on to consumers, a White House official told IANS.
The largest component of the package allocates USD 425 million under the Defence Production Act to support 13 coal-fired power plants across the country.
The White House said the funding would allow the facilities to invest in upgrades that extend their operational life, reinforce grid reliability and help keep electricity prices low as demand for power increases.
The plants receiving support are located in West Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Indiana, Tennessee, Arkansas, Arizona, Oklahoma, North Dakota and Wisconsin.
Administration officials said the funding would also benefit coal mines that supply fuel to those plants. Those mines are located in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wyoming, North Dakota and New Mexico.
In a second announcement, Trump is expected to allocate USD 75 million in Defence Production Act funding to support construction of the West Gateway Terminal in Oakland, California.
The White House said the project, which has faced delays for years, would break ground this summer and begin exporting coal by the summer of 2028.
According to administration estimates, the terminal will operate around the clock and handle more than 12 million tonnes of American coal annually, representing more than USD 1 billion in exports each year.
The administration said the project is expected to create more than 1,400 jobs on-site and support thousands of additional jobs across the western United States, including miners, railway workers, port workers, engineers and construction workers.
Coal-producing communities in Wyoming, Utah and other western states are expected to benefit from increased export demand as production expands to supply overseas markets.
The third element of the package involves nearly USD 200 million in Department of Energy grant funding to support the construction of two new coal-fired power plants in Alaska and West Virginia and the restart of a coal plant in Maryland.
According to the White House, these would be the first new coal plants built in the United States since 2013.
Administration officials said participating companies would match or exceed the federal funding, bringing total investment in the projects to approximately USD 386 million.
The White House also projected that about 12,500 coal-related jobs would be retained by keeping existing coal plants operating. Officials argued that investment in coal-based power generation would help preserve baseload electricity capacity and support employment at power stations, coal mines and industries linked to coal combustion products.
