President Trump on Thursday announced that he is invoking the Defense Production Act of 1950 to provide hundreds of millions of dollars in federal support for the coal industry.
The Cold War-era law gives the president broad powers to shape key industries involved in national defense and emergency preparedness. Trump’s move makes $500 million available under the DPA to coal mining firms, coal-fired electricity plants and coal exporters, part of a broader effort to boost domestic oil, gas and coal production at a time when energy prices are soaring.
Thirteen coal-fired plants will share $425 million in funding, Bloomberg reports. Companies benefiting from the funds include Duke Energy, Hallador Energy and Oklahoma Gas & Electric. Another $75 million will be used for a new coal export facility in Oakland, California.
In addition to the Defense Production Act funds, the Energy Department will provide $185 million in separate grants to build new coal-fired plants in Alaska and West Virginia, and to restart a facility in Maryland.
“Today, we’re taking historic action to bring down the price of energy and the cost of living for all Americans with the power of clean, beautiful coal,” Trump said at an event at the White House. “If you look at China, if you look at so many of the successful countries, they’re using coal.”
Environmentalists have criticized the move, calling it short-sighted. “This is like throwing cash at horse and buggies to help with gas prices,” former Capitol Hill staffer Eben Burnham-Snyder told Bloomberg. “This money would keep a couple coal plants on life support for a few more years, but could instead develop several times the capacity in new solar or help deploy advanced nuclear.”
Coal was once the primary source of electricity in the United States, but use of the fossil fuel has been in sharp decline. In 2025, coal accounted for about 17% of the country’s electrical generation.