en.Wedoany.com Reported - The U.S. government plans to announce a $700 million support package to aid coal-fired power plants and coal imports, aiming to meet the growing electricity demand from the data center market.

According to a report first published by Bloomberg, the plan is expected to be announced under the Cold War-era Defense Production Act, which grants executive authority to support private industrial production deemed critical to U.S. national security. The official announcement of the funding plan is expected later today.

In July last year, the Trump administration designated data centers as critical national security infrastructure and issued an executive order to accelerate their permitting and development. To meet surging electricity demand, the government has strongly supported coal power as a key energy source, even though coal's share of U.S. electricity generation has fallen to a historic low of about 15%.

According to disclosures, more than half of the $700 million will be used to upgrade 13 coal-fired power plants, $185 million will match corporate funds for coal facilities in Alaska, Maryland, and West Virginia, and $75 million will support the proposed West Gateway export terminal in northern California.

Over the past year, the U.S. government has announced a series of measures to support the coal industry. In April last year, President Trump signed an executive order to "revitalize" the coal industry to meet the surging energy demands of AI data centers, including eliminating federal regulatory barriers that undermine coal production, encouraging the use of coal to meet domestic energy needs, increasing coal exports, and ensuring federal policies do not discriminate against coal production or coal-fired power generation.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright subsequently stated that the Trump administration expects most coal-fired power plants to delay retirement to help meet the energy needs of the AI data center industry. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has used emergency powers to force utility companies to extend the lifespan of coal-fired power plants. In August, Wright exercised emergency powers to direct Consumers Energy and the Midwest grid operator to extend the operation of the J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant in West Olive, Michigan, through November; earlier in May, he had ordered the plant to continue operating under a nearly century-old law.

In October this year, the U.S. Department of Energy launched another $625 million funding program to support the retrofitting and recommissioning of coal-fired power plants.

However, the revitalization of the coal industry could lead to a significant increase in emissions. Coal is currently the most carbon-intensive form of energy, with carbon dioxide emissions up to twice that of natural gas, and it is less efficient, requiring more fuel to generate the same amount of electricity.

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