Focus on the USA |
a continuing preoccupation of the Trump administation
Saving coal power:
The Trump administration’s love affair with coal continues unabated, with the US Department of Energy announcing substantial funding for significant coal power projects in recent weeks
The administration is said to be “strengthening grid reliability and national security by reinvigorating the American coal industry” and “unleashing beautiful, clean coal after years of attack.”
Declaring a “national energy emergency” back in January 2025, the Trump administration set about reversing what it called “the war on American coal” by “stopping the premature shutdown of coal fired power plants, expanding coal infrastructure to improve grid reliability, lower energy costs, and supporting American coal workers.”
4 June announcements On 4 June 2026, the Department of Energy announced its intention to provide support to a further 17 coal fired power plants and one coal
export facility. With these projects, the US DOE says it will have saved/supported a total of some 45 coal fired power plants, amounting to more than 40 GW of installed capacity. As a result, “at least 42 coal mines will likely remain in operation.” Four of the projects announced on 4 June will receive a total of up to $350 million via the US Department of Energy’s Restoring Reliability: Coal Recommissioning and Modernization initiative. Remarkably, two of the four projects are feasibility studies looking towards construction of new coal fired power plants (something not seen
in the USA for over a decade): ● Alaska CCUS coal commissioning project. Terra Energy Center Corporation (Anchorage, Alaska) is to assess the viability of commissioning a new 1250 MW power plant
with integrated carbon capture. Funding: DOE $89 000 000; non-DOE $101 375 155; total $190 375 155.
● TerraSpark WV Energy Campus. TerraPurus, doing business as “TerraSpark Inc” (Mt Storm, West Virginia), is to undertake scoping and design for a 1600 MW “next-generation” coal fired power plant with integrated carbon capture, to be located at the West Virginia Energy Campus. Funding: DOE $18 500 000; non- DOE $21 462 500; total $39 962 500. The other two projects of the four announced on 4 June as recipients of funding via the US DOE’s Restoring Reliability: Coal Recommissioning and Modernization initiative involve retrofit of existing coal fired power plants:
TVA’s Cumberland coal fired power plant. A US DOE supported coal-revitalisation project at this location aims to restore reliability, enhance efficiency, and extend the plant’s operational life. Photo: TVA
10 | July/August 2026 |
www.modernpowersystems.com
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