Almost half of U.S. grid-connected coal plants have received support from the Trump administration through cash, pollution exemptions or orders to stay online past planned retirements, according to an Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) analysis covered by The Guardian. Of 184 operating plants studied, 90 got such backing.

EDF says the administration directed about $950 million in taxpayer funds to 24 coal plants and granted Clean Air Act exemptions from toxic-pollution limits to 70 plants. Early in the second Trump term, companies were invited to email requests for exemptions from the 2024 updates to the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards; emails obtained by EDF via FOIA show firms arguing compliance would cost too much.

EDF attorney Surbhi Sarang said the measures extend the life of coal plants and that Americans are “hit twice” — through higher electricity costs and more pollution. The Colstrip plant in Montana and the W.A. Parish plant near Houston were cited as examples that sought or received relief from tougher particulate and toxics rules. NorthWestern Energy, majority owner of Colstrip, said its controls are state of the art and that meeting the 2024 fine-particulate standard would have cost hundreds of millions for a marginal gain; NRG did not comment on Parish.

Rice University professor Daniel Cohan said letting plants off the 2024 standard keeps them open longer; many are barely breaking even, so cleanup costs can tip them toward retirement in favour of cheaper, cleaner power. EDF also links Department of Energy mandates that forced six plants past retirement dates to hundreds of millions in ratepayer costs and estimated health damages.

The White House defended the record. Spokesperson Taylor Rogers said Democratic “energy-subtraction” policies had shuttered reliable coal capacity and that Trump had “backed and saved more than 100 coal plants,” preventing retirement of more than 17 gigawatts and saving lives in high-demand periods. The EDF findings are an advocacy analysis; they describe tools used to support coal, not a court verdict on legality.

Source: Trump boosted half of US coal plants with taxpayer dollars, EDF says (The Guardian)