CHARLESTON, W.Va. –Multiple sources, including the West Virginia Coal Association, confirm plans by the White House to use the National Defense Act to invest $700 Million in restoring coal as a power source for the nation.
The plans include $185 Million in grants to support new coal generation projects. The plans include the construction of two new coal fired power plants in the United States, one of which would be located in West Virginia. Another $425 Million will be directed towards upgrading 13 existing coal fired power plants across the United States. Those plants are located in ten states, West Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Indiana, Tennessee, Arkansas, Arizona, Oklahoma, North Dakota and Wisconsin.
“This is the most impactful announcement for the coal industry in West Virginia since Jimmy Carter was President and Congress ordered coal be a major feed stock for electric generation in this country. That’s almost 50 years to the date and that’s how significant the news of today is,” said West Virginia Coal Association President Chris Hamilton.
President Donald Trump revealed the entire plan Thursday afternoon during an Oval Office announcement.
He said coal is the way to go in order to provide good energy.
“Coal’s a great business, really a big business, and it’s real power, in terms of power, there’s nothing really like it,” Trump said.
He also said that by saving the coal plants around the U.S. it will benefit a large number of people.
“These actions will support over 14,000 jobs and save the American people 50 billion dollars in electricity costs,” Trump said.
The White House plan reportedly also includes construction of a coal export dock in northern California.
“This is welcome news,” , said U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito in a conference call with West Virginia reporters. “We have shortages of power, and this is affordable power.”
It’s unclear who has received the federal dollars to build the new West Virginia facility. Hamilton indicated the plans were to build the facility in the Mount Storm area of Grant County but did not indicate who would be developing the facility. It would be the first coal fired plant constructed in West Virginia since the opening of the Longview Power Plant near Morgantown in December 2011.
Capito likewise confirmed the Grant County area looks to be the location of the new plant.
“Early reporting says it’s in the Mount Storm area, which already has a very large power facility that’s coal powered. There’s coal in that region of our state, West Virginia coal, so that’s more jobs and more power,” she added.
Various published reports indicate TerraPutus Inc. will be the developer of the Mount Storm facility. Companies would have to match capital to federal dollars invested in the project. A third project would refurbish and restart the AES Warrior Run power plant near Cumberland, Maryland. The plant was previously shut down.
“This is just fantastic news, and we applaud the Administration for doing all they can to boost West Virginia coal,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton added the boost would eventually increase production at coal mines all across the eastern half of the nation, including mines in West Virginia.
“I think there’s more than 40 active coal mines that are providing fuel that are impacted by this arrangement that is being announced,” he said.