Administration Announces $700 Million for Coal Plants and Infrastructure

The U.S. government plans to allocate $700 million for coal power plants and related infrastructure. The package includes $425 million for upgrades at 13 existing plants across ten states and $75 million for a new export terminal in Oakland, California.

Officials will invoke the Defense Production Act to authorize the spending. The same measure also directs nearly $200 million in Department of Energy grants to build two new coal plants in Alaska and West Virginia and to restart a coal plant in Maryland.

Those two new plants would be the first built in the United States since 2013. A White House official said the initiative is projected to create thousands of jobs for miners, railroad workers, engineers and construction crews. The same official added that the measures are expected to save consumers $50 billion in energy generation costs.

Coal stocks rose following early reports of the planned spending. Market participants cited the direct federal support as a positive signal for domestic producers. The announcement comes as the administration continues to prioritize fossil fuel development and has moved to speed permitting for oil, gas and mining projects while reducing support for renewable energy programs.

m. Eastern time.