DOE FOA-0003605 · DPA Title III
DOEmoney
Direct Department of Energy funding
The Department of Energy has committed nearly a billion dollars to prop up coal plants through two funding programs: grants under a funding program designed to boost coal use called “Restoring Reliability: Coal Recommissioning and Modernization” and Defense Production Act Title III awards.
24
Coal plants receiving DOE funds
$525M
Money committed through Restoring Reliability grants
$425M
Money committed through Defense Production Act Title III awards
How the coal industry
is benefiting
The Department of Energy has awarded direct funding to coal plant operators through two funding pools.
The first funding pool opened up $525M to coal operators to refurbish and extend the life of aging units, to bring retired plants back online, and to build new coal capacity. Through this program, called “Restoring Reliability: Coal Recommissioning and Modernization (opens in a new tab)” (“Coal Recommissioning”) the Trump administration has committed $525M to 10 operators of 11 coal plants.
The second funding pool invoked Title III of the Defense Production Act (opens in a new tab) to allocate $425M in 12 awards across 13 coal plants. The Defense Production Act grants the president power to expand the production and supply of products critical for national defense purposes.
Where the money went
The following bar charts show every award made under the two Department of Energy funding programs: “Coal Recommissioning” (organized by recipient operator) and the Defense Production Act funds (organized by recipient plant). Click a bar for the plant file.
Both charts have the same one dollar scale, so bar lengths compare across the two programs. The rows for each chart differ: the rows of the “Coal Recommissioning” chart represent owner companies while the rows of the Defense Production Act funds chart represent individual power stations. The charts plot the federal dollars awarded only; most awards also carry non-federal matching money, quoted in each plant’s file.
Recipients of “Coal Recommissioning” awards
paid to the operator$525M to 10 operators running 11 plants. One check can cover more than one plant run by the same operator, so the bar is the operator’s whole award.
Recipients of Defense Production Act awards
paid to the plant$425M across 13 plants in 12 awards — one award is split between two plants and counted once.
Source: DOE project selections (DE-FOA-0003605) and Defense Production Act Title III announcements.
Every plant that got Dept. of Energy money (24)
| Operator | Units | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage Coal Commissioning Project | AK | Terra Energy Center Corp | 1 | 250 | $89M | — |
| Flint Creek Power Plant | AR | Southwestern Electric Power Company | 1 | 510.8 | — | $29.8M |
| Apache Station | AZ | Arizona Electric Power Cooperative | 1 | 194.7 | — | $20.8M |
| Merom | IN | Hallador Power Company LLC | 2 | 1,080 | — | $27.2M |
| East Bend | KY | Duke Energy Kentucky, Inc. | 1 | 669.3 | — | $33.4M |
| Ghent | KY | Kentucky Utilities Company | 4 | 2,226.1 | $35M | — |
| H L Spurlock | KY | East Kentucky Power Cooperative | 4 | 1,544 | — | $90.6M |
| John S. Cooper | KY | East Kentucky Power Cooperative | 2 | 321 | — | $90.6M |
| Warrior Run | MD | AES WR LP | 1 | — | $78M | — |
| Belews Creek | NC | Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC | 2 | 2,160.2 | $34M | — |
| Roxboro | NC | Duke Energy Progress, LLC | 6 | 4,048.7 | — | $28.4M |
| Antelope Valley | ND | Basin Electric Power Cooperative | 2 | 870 | — | $27.4M |
| Cardinal | OH | Cardinal Operating Company | 3 | 1,880.4 | $34M | — |
| Kyger Creek | OH | Ohio Valley Electric Corporation | 5 | 1,086.5 | $33.1M | — |
| Grand River Dam Authority | OK | Grand River Dam Authority | 1 | 520 | — | $28.5M |
| Sooner | OK | Oklahoma Gas & Electric Company | 2 | 1,136 | — | $22.5M |
| AES Puerto Rico, LP | PR | AES Puerto Rico | 2 | 520 | $164.5M | — |
| Cumberland | TN | Tennessee Valley Authority | 2 | 2,600 | — | $46.3M |
| Columbia | WI | Wisconsin Power & Light Company | 2 | 1,023 | — | $19M |
| Fort Martin Power Station | WV | Monongahela Power Company | 2 | 1,152 | $4.3M | — |
| John E Amos | WV | Appalachian Power Company | 3 | 2,932.6 | $34.6M | — |
| Mitchell (WV) | WV | Kentucky Power Company | 2 | 1,632.6 | — | $51M |
| Mountaineer (1301) | WV | Appalachian Power Company | 1 | 1,300 | $34.6M | — |
| West Virginia Energy Campus | WV | TerraSpark | 1 | — | $18.5M | — |
How we track it
The other four metrics we are tracking
DOE Coal Plant Mandates
DOE 202(c) orders.
Orders forcing aging, unreliable plants to keep running past their planned retirements due to so-called “energy emergencies.”
6 facilitiesPolluter passes for mercury and air toxics
Clean Air Act exemptions.
Free passes to get out of complying with 2024 standards for mercury and other toxic air pollutants like arsenic, nickel, and chromium (which have now been repealed for all coal plants).
70 facilitiesMust-run agreements
Requirements proposed by an Independent System Operator and approved by FERC that keep a retiring coal plant temporarily online for reliability purposes. Ratepayers pay to keep these plants open, often at a high price.
1 facilityRetirement changes
Changes in coal plants’ previously announced retirement plans (which may occur as a result of economic factors, policy changes or other causes).
11 facilities