The U.S. Department of Energy says it will provide up to $500 million in Defense Production Act funding to support 13 American coal-fired power plants and new coal export infrastructure. The package includes up to $425 million for twelve projects aimed at strengthening the coal fleet, plus up to $75 million for the West Gateway Terminal Project in Oakland, California.
The West Gateway terminal would be a rail-served marine export facility able to handle more than 10 million tons of bulk commodities a year. DOE says it would expand West Coast export capacity and support energy shipments to allies including Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam and Malaysia.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the funding is intended to reinforce national security by supporting coal generation, domestic supply chains and export capability. DOE Under Secretary Kyle Haustveit said the terminal fills a key infrastructure gap and would improve access to global markets while strengthening energy partnerships in the Indo-Pacific.
The announcement marks a clear shift toward using federal industrial policy to preserve coal as part of the US energy and export system, with DOE framing the projects as a way to bolster baseload reliability, supply chain resilience and strategic energy leverage.
