President Donald Trump speaks during the “Beautiful, Clean Coal” event in the Oval Office of the White House on June 4, 2026 in Washington. Behind him, from left to right, are Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. (Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The federal government will spend $700 million to build or renovate coal-fired energy infrastructure across the country, creating “clean, beautiful coal,” President Donald Trump said Thursday in the Oval Office.
Trump said he was invoking the Cold War-era Defense Production Act, which gives the president authority over domestic industries, to save 13 existing plants and build two fresh ones. He said the move would save 14,000 coal jobs and lower energy costs, although the spending would not lower gasoline or diesel prices, which have skyrocketed since Trump launched a war with Iran in February.
Trump has criticized wind energy subsidies championed by Democrats, including his predecessor Joe Biden, calling coal the most significant source of energy for farming.
“That’s real power,” Trump said. “In terms of power, there’s really nothing like it. We have so many different alternatives. You talk about some, there’s no real alternative.”
Trump announced that fresh coal plants would be built in Alaska and West Virginia. An idle factory in Maryland will also be brought online. These projects will be funded with $200 million in Department of Energy grants.
According to the White House, the coal plants that will receive a total of $425 million under the Defense Production Act are located in West Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Indiana, Tennessee, Arkansas, Arizona, Oklahoma, North Dakota and Wisconsin.
According to the White House, coal mines will benefit from the move in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wyoming, North Dakota and New Mexico.
The White House also said the administration would spend $75 million under the Defense Production Act to support open a long-delayed fresh coal export terminal in Oakland, California.
Administration officials said Thursday’s announcement builds on the results of the past 18 months, during which the administration has saved dozens of coal-producing plants.
“It’s hard to overstate the scale of this phenomenon,” said Energy Secretary Chris Wright. “If you look at our efforts across the government, so far there are 45 coal-fired power plants open today that would not have been open.”
Republicans agree
Members of Trump’s cabinet, congressional Republicans and two governors, Mark Gordon of Wyoming and Patrick Morrissey of West Virginia, joined Trump for the Oval Office announcement, and several of them praised the importance of the coal industry after Trump’s speech.
Wright, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin praised Trump for intervening to support the industry and redirecting federal energy policy away from renewables.
Wright said Democratic policies are more responsible for high energy costs than the Iran war, even though Republicans have had unified control of the federal government since January 2025 and the Trump administration has consistently touted his moves to encourage fossil fuel production.
“We would like them to be lower, but gas prices in the U.S. are just over $4. In Europe they are $10, they are higher in Asia, they are very high in California,” Wright said. The national average price for regular gasoline on Thursday was $4.24 a gallon.
“The bigger threat to U.S. energy prices is Democrats’ green energy policies,” Wright continued. “They have raised energy prices much more than the Iran conflict.”
Burgum said the president was probably the greatest supporter of coal in the country’s history.
He repeated Trump’s statements that the coal industry needs to be revitalized after the Biden administration focused more on renewable energy production.
“The previous administration under Biden went so far in seeking highly subsidized, intermittent and weather-dependent sources of electricity that our grid was at risk. You understand that and you understand how crucial coal is,” Burgum told Trump. “This is the foundation of having affordable, reliable and safe American energy that will power our country, our electric grid, strengthen our competitiveness in artificial intelligence and power all of our returning manufacturing.”
Morrissey said the moves would benefit his state.
“We believe your policies will allow America to compete and win,” Morrissey said. “West Virginia will provide the coal, gas and nuclear power to make this happen. That’s why I’m very excited about everything you’re doing.”
Greens condemn ‘donations to polluters’
Environmental groups sharply criticized the move, saying it would shore up a dwindling industry and have little long-term impact on energy prices and reliability.
Jesse Lee, a senior adviser at the climate group Climate Power, said spending on coal projects would not lower utility prices, which he said rose 18% during Trump’s second term.
“He is enlightening Americans by claiming that this move will lower electricity prices in the middle of the energy affordability crisis he has created,” Lee said.
Environmental groups have noted that the coal industry was a major contributor to Trump’s 2024 campaign.
Several environmental advocates, including Lena Moffitt, executive director of the climate group Evergreen Action, suggested that these relationships led Trump to promote coal at the expense of renewables.
“Spending $700 million to save the coal industry is like throwing a lifeline to a ship that has already sunk,” Moffitt wrote. “Trump is handing out taxpayers’ money to coal barons and leaving us with nothing but higher energy costs. … There is no coal recovery around the corner – it’s just polluters collecting handouts while their friends run the White House and Americans pay the bills.”
