The White House will use a Cold War-era law to fund coal power upgrades, citing national security concerns.
The Trump administration plans to allocate $700 million to support coal power generation, invoking the 1950 Defense Production Act. The funds will upgrade over 12 coal plants, with more than half the total sum earmarked for these facilities.
The Defense Production Act allows the president to provide financial backing to industries deemed critical for national security. Previous administrations have used the law for sectors like semiconductors and rare earth minerals, but this marks a rare application for fossil fuel infrastructure.
No immediate market reaction was reported following the announcement.