Trump to direct Pentagon to buy coal in bid to revive industry
President Donald Trump will unveil plans to use government funding and Pentagon contracts to sustain US coal-fired power plants as he seeks to drive domestic reliance on the fossil fuel.
The marquee initiative, set to be announced Wednesday, will come through an executive order, as Trump directs Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to enter into agreements to purchase electricity from coal plants to power military operations, according to a White House official.
The move is expected to tap special Cold War-era authorities under the 1950 Defense Production Act that gives the White House sweeping power to direct private industry to protect national security, said the official, who requested anonymity to discuss plans that weren’t yet public. The Trump administration also contemplated a similar approach during the president’s first term in the White House.
The president is also set to announce the Energy Department’s plans to distribute $175 million to fund upgrades at six coal plants in Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia, the official said. The agency announced the available funding last year, casting it as a bid to improve the efficiency of some coal plants and extend their operations. [Continue reading…]