The package includes $425 million to upgrade 13 existing coal-fired power plants across 10 states and $75 million for a new export terminal in Oakland, California. An additional $200 million in Department of Energy grants will fund two new coal plants in Alaska and West Virginia and restart a coal plant in western Maryland. The new U.S. coal plants will be the first to be built since 2013.
Trump formally unveiled the initiative at a White House event billed as "Beautiful, Clean Coal," joined by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. The White House said the plan will create thousands of jobs for miners, railroad workers, engineers and construction workers and save consumers $50 billion in energy generation costs.
In addition to Peabody Energy, Range Global Coal Index ETF is also gaining, up approximately 2.43% on the day. Utility names with coal exposure, including Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK), Hallador Energy Company (NASDAQ:HNRG) and American Electric Power Company Inc (NASDAQ:AEP) are each posting smaller gains of less than 1%.
The coal announcement arrives on a broadly positive day for equities. Wall Street advanced Thursday as progress toward ending the Iran war lifted investor sentiment, with the Dow touching a record high, though a selloff in chip stocks following disappointing Broadcom results kept Nasdaq gains in check, according to Reuters.
Coal's share of U.S. electricity generation has plunged from over 45% in 2010 to roughly 15% in 2024, as utilities shifted to cheaper natural gas and renewables. The Trump administration has framed its coal push as a national security and energy-security imperative, citing surging electricity demand from AI data centers. Thursday's Defense Production Act action follows a February executive order directing military bases to sign electricity contracts with coal plants.
National Mining Association CEO Rich Nolan welcomed the move, saying, "The administration is supporting that strategy with decisive action at home to ensure that upgrades to existing energy assets are made, and at our ports to ensure that U.S. coal can answer the world's needs."
Environmental groups pushed back sharply. The Sierra Club called the spending "disgusting and reprehensible," arguing it would "make Americans sicker and drive up electricity prices." Kit Kennedy of the Natural Resources Defense Council said the plan amounts to "propping up coal billionaires with taxpayer money."
source https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/peabody-gains-as-trump-invokes-emergency-powers-to-direct-700m-to-coal-industry-4727335
