President Trump Moves to Increase Coal Production in U.S. Though Defense Production Act Moves

President Donald J. Trump today announced more than $700 million in support for the U.S. coal industry through the Defense Production Act.

The support includes funding for upgrades, new projects and other support for clean coal products.

Meeting with leaders in the Oval Office, the president promised to invoke the Defense Production Act, a Cold War-era law that grants presidents broad authority over industries considered vital to national security, to direct federal support to coal projects across the country and to save 13 coal plants in West Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Indiana, Tennessee, Arizona, Arkansas, Oklahoma, North Dakota and Wisconsin.

The president announced the plan during a White House event focused on what the administration has called "beautiful clean coal."

"If you look at China, if you look at so many of the successful countries, they're using coal," Trump said. "If you look at some of the really great failures, countries they're using wind, just keeps blowing, blowing, blowing and put you right out of business."

The president noted that China was investing heavily in its own coal industry, including massive investments in coal-powered electricity plants throughout China.

The funding package proposed by Trump would provide more than $425 million to upgrade 13 existing coal-fired power plants. Another $185 million would be used to match corporate funding for coal projects in Alaska, Maryland and West Virginia, while $75 million would support construction of the long-proposed West Gateway coal export terminal in Northern California, according to a White House official.