The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced it will spend $625 million to “expand and reinvigorate” the US coal industry, claiming it will boost energy production and help rural communities. Energy Secretary Chris Wright praised “beautiful, clean coal” as “essential to powering America’s reindustrialization and winning the AI race.”

The Trump administration argues this spending will keep aging coal plants running, lower electricity costs, and prevent blackouts. But this so-called coal revival plan wastes millions when clean energy is cheaper and growing at a breakneck pace.

According to the DOE press release, the funds will prop up coal-fired power plants through several programs:

• $350 million to restart or upgrade old coal plants, improving their capacity and reliability.
• $175 million for projects bringing power to rural areas, aiming to deliver cheaper, more reliable coal-fired electricity.
• $50 million to upgrade coal plant wastewater systems, reducing water pollution and extending plant life.
• $25 million for “dual-firing” retrofits, so plants can switch between coal and other fuels like natural gas.
• $25 million to develop 100% natural gas co-firing, keeping boilers running efficiently if a plant uses gas instead of coal.

Wright claims these DOE coal investments will “keep electricity prices low and the lights on without interruption.” He also touted coal as the “backbone” of industries like steel and cement, insisting it’s “necessary to feed the AI boom.” In short, the administration is betting that propping up coal now will secure US energy supply for factories and data centers.

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Interior Secretary Doug Burgum also said at a press conference in Washington that 13.1 million acres of federal land will be opened up in Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming for coal leasing.

Environmental experts and clean energy advocates blasted the DOE’s coal plan as wasteful, polluting, and economically foolish. “The Trump administration is hell-bent on supporting one of the oldest, dirtiest electricity sources. It’s handing our hard-earned tax dollars over to the owners of plants that cost more to run than new, clean energy, while giving those plants a free pass to keep polluting,” said Amanda Levin, policy analyst at NRDC. “Propping up coal means dirtier air and water, destruction of public lands, and higher utility bills for struggling families… This is a colossal waste of money at a time when the federal government should be spurring on new energy sources that can power the AI boom and help bring down utility bills.”

Levin’s frustration is echoed by others. The Sierra Club warned that continuing to subsidize coal will lead to “skyrocketing bills,” worse health outcomes, and a “decaying environment.” The Environmental Defense Fund noted that modern clean energy like solar, wind, and battery storage is now cheaper and faster to deploy – the real solution for powering a high-tech economy affordably. Critics argue that pouring more money into coal props up “dirty, uncompetitive plants from the last century” instead of investing in 21st-century energy.

The backlash is fueled by coal’s sharp decline in the US power mix. Coal generated only about 15% of US electricity in 2024, down from 50% in 2000, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), as cheap natural gas and booming solar and wind power have eaten away coal’s market share. No new US coal plants are planned, and dozens of aging coal plants are slated for retirement in the next few years due to high costs and old age. In fact, wind and solar produced more electricity than coal in the US last year for the first time ever, and the EIA reported last week that wind and solar combined provided 19% more electricity than did coal during the first seven months of 2025.

Against that backdrop, pouring hundreds of millions into coal flies in the face of market trends and climate urgency. Analysts are skeptical that the DOE’s coal push will change coal’s long-term outlook, calling it at best a short-term boost for a “zombie” industry that can’t compete in the long run.

Spending $625 million to revive coal – the dirtiest, most carbon-heavy energy source – is a ridiculous move when clean energy is cleaner and cheaper. It’s an especially hypocritical move given that just last week, Wright canceled $13 billion of funding for renewable energy projects and dismissed renewables’ need for federal subsidies at a press conference, saying:

If you can’t rock on your own after 33 years, maybe that’s not a business that’s going places.

Guess it slipped Wright’s mind that US fossil fuels already receive about $760 billion a year in total subsidies, according to the International Monetary Fund, after nearly two centuries of government support. And just days later, he’s handing hundreds of millions more in taxpayer dollars to a dying coal industry that isn’t “rocking on its own.”

This hefty taxpayer-funded handout is highly unlikely to reverse coal’s decades-long decline, but it could slow cleaner investments and keep polluting plants on life support. At a time when the government “should be spurring new energy sources to power the AI boom,” funneling money into dirty 19th-century fuel is an embarrassing, damaging throwback.

Read more: The oil shill running the Energy Dept. just banned the words ‘climate change’

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