President Donald Trump is using Cold War-era authorities to sink hundreds of millions of dollars into US-mined coal, he announced Thursday.
He’s expected to spend $425 million on existing coal plants and $75 million on an export terminal under the Defense Production Act, as well as $185 million on new coal plants using Energy Department grants.
“When they find something better … we’ll be all set for it,” Trump said in the Oval Office alongside members of his Cabinet and governors. “But they’re a long ways from finding something better.”
Today’s investment, he said, is projected to create 14,000 jobs and save Americans $50 billion on electricity costs — and represents Trump’s latest effort to boost oil, gas, and coal production over renewable energy sources.
The announcement follows an estimate from one think tank that renewable energy outpaced coal for the first time last year.