President Trump said Thursday he will ask the Cold War-era emergency powers to direct nearly $700 million in investments in the shrinking coal industry, including construction of a new West Coast coal export terminal in Oakland.
Speaking at the White House, Trump said he would use the Defense Production Act, a 1950 law that gives the president emergency authorization for domestic industries deemed important to national security, to build a new export terminal on the West Coast for the first time to move goods abroad. He also announced the expansion of 13 existing coal plants across the country, the construction of two new coal fields in Alaska and West Virginia, and the restart of a closed coal plant in Maryland.
“Today we are taking a historic step to lower the price of energy and the cost of living for all Americans with clean, good coal power,” Trump said. He was joined by US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin and other senior officials.
Trump and his energy advisers have said coal power is a national security issue because of rising energy costs, especially from the growth of intelligence data centers. He announced a national power emergency on his first day back in office, which was aimed at improving domestic fuel production.
High energy costs have also become an issue for voters, with residential electricity bills rising nearly 11% since Trump resumed office in January 2025, according to the latest available data from the agency. US Energy Information Administration.
The effort to establish a West Coast coal export facility is revitalizing a a battle that has been played out many times over the years.
Beginning in 2010, the coal industry began looking for new export sites in California, Oregon and Washington that would bring coal from landlocked western states to energy-hungry markets in Asia. Those plans have met with fierce opposition from environmental groups and local communities concerned about climate impacts, coal dust, rail traffic and other potential downsides.
These plans were eventually abandoned, leaving the West Coast without a major port to ship coal to the US – until now.
“Starting this summer, the West Gateway project will start operating and by the summer of 2028, more than 12 million tons of fine coal per year will be exported to countries around the world,” Trump said.
While administrations are leaning on coal as a solution to energy costs, opponents say the move will add to rising electricity prices — noting that renewables are often cheaper than coal when it comes to new power generation in the U.S. According to a recent report from a nonpartisan think tank. Energy Innovation found that 99% of all US coal plants are now more expensive to operate than to replace with new solar, wind or storage.
“President Trump’s ongoing effort to bail out the coal industry is putting public health at risk and leaving Americans on the hook for an expensive energy bill,” said Shannon Baker-Branstetter, senior director of climate and energy policy at the Center for American Progress.
Baker-Branstetter noted that coal consumption has declined over the years due to market forces. At the same time, he said pouring taxpayer dollars into a new export facility “means absolutely no benefit to American consumers, and the export facilities will burden communities around the port with deadly pollution.”
Coal burning is one of the leading sources of air pollution, releasing fine particles known to be harmful to respiratory and cardiovascular health. At the same time, coal is at the forefront of human-caused climate change, which it faces about 40% global greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel combustion.
The move also follows ongoing efforts by the Trump administration less US investment in renewable energyespecially offshore wind energy, electric vehicle initiatives and federal funding for solar projects.
“We wouldn’t have the buildings, the factories, the industry, the electric grid that we have today without the significant contribution of coal, the world’s largest source of electricity for 125 years in a row, and it will be for decades to come,” said Wright, the United States Secretary of Energy.
But investing in coal in 2026 amounts to a “taxpayer bailout to build new power stations,” said Kit Kennedy, executive director of energy for the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council.
“The Trump administration’s claim that this is related to national security is just another false excuse,” Kennedy said. “Instead of bailing on dirty energy, why don’t they end their attack on cheap, abundant wind and solar energy?
Kennedy added that the latest action from the White House will lead to higher debt and polluted air for the American people.
“The best thing for the air, the climate and our utility costs is to let these plants die in peace,” he said.
