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Dive Brief:
The U.S. Department of Energy on Thursday committed up to $850 million to construct two new coal-fired power plants, modernize more than a dozen other facilities, and bolster coal export capabilities from the West Coast.
The funds will support 17 total projects, including new coal-fired plants in Anchorage, Alaska, and Mt. Storm, West Virginia, which will have a combined capacity of 2.85 GW. “It’s all very clean,” President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House.
Consumer and environmental advocates criticized Trump’s support for the ailing coal sector. It is “swamp politics at its worst, and there is nothing even remotely conservative about it,” David Jenkins, president of Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship, said in a statement.
