Trump plans to spend $700 million to support coal plants and build an export terminal: report
The funding will support 13 existing coal plants, the construction of two new coal plants, and an coal export terminal in California.
President Donald Trump is planning to announce a $700 million initiative under the Defense Production Act to support coal-fired electricity and coal exports.
The initiative, Bloomberg reported, will provide $425 million to 13 existing coal plants, $185 million to Energy Department grants to build two more new coal plants in Alaska and West Virginia, and another $75 million for a proposed West Gateway export terminal in Oakland, California.
The terminal will have the potential to export 12 million tons of coal from Wyoming, Montana and other states.
Lawmakers and governors from coal states, including Wyoming and West Virginia, have been invited to the White House for the announcement scheduled for Thursday at 3 p.m., according to Bloomberg, which cited unnamed sources.
The Defense Production Act grants the president a wide range of authority to influence the domestic industrial base in the interest of national security.