Using Taxpayer Money, Trump Bails Out Coal Power Plants in Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, & North Carolina

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Aside from denying that long established climate science is real, and the threats to humanity from global heating are great, the Trump administration is intent on doing all kinds of absurd things to pretend that fossil fuels are better than they are, and to line the pockets of fossil billionaires who contribute nicely to the Republican piggy bank and Trump’s own needs. That now also includes bailing out coal power plants across the country.

Here are a few statements on the nonsense going on from sea to shining sea under the administration of a dunce who inherited billions of dollars.

Ohio

“The Trump Administration announced its latest scheme to bail out the coal industry ordering up to $175 million in funds originally intended to support energy resiliency, efficiency, and greenhouse gas reductions in rural communities to instead help prop up a number of old, inefficient coal plants. Included in this scheme are the Cardinal coal plant and the infamous OVEC Kyger Creek plant, both in Ohio. This is part of a suite of rollbacks that bolster the coal and fossil fuel industries, threatening to keep our coal plants online longer and make our environment and climate dirtier. In a brazen assault on the health and welfare of the American public, the Trump administration announced that it will finalize its rule revoking the Environmental Protection Agency’s longstanding greenhouse gas endangerment finding under the federal Clean Air Act, and roll back the mercury and air toxics standards for power plants and greenhouse gas emission standards for vehicles,” the Sierra Club shares.

“Ohioans are all too familiar with coal plant bailouts. For years, Ohioans were forced to bail out both of the two archaic OVEC coal plants–Kyger Creek in Ohio and Clifty Creek in Indiana–as a result of Public Utilities Commission of Ohio action and the passage of the infamous House Bill 6. Those bailouts cost Ohioans hundreds of millions before House Bill 6 was finally repealed in 2025. Today’s bailout of Kyger Creek and Cardinal continues this legacy of bailouts and initiatives out of touch with economic, environmental, and public health reality and is yet another handout to the coal and fossil fuel industries that will be paid for by taxpayers.”

“Let’s call this what it is: a giant bailout for the coal industry,” Neil Waggoner, Midwest Beyond Coal Campaign Manager, added. “Trump has shown time and time again that he loves driving up our costs in order to bail out his buddies in the coal and fossil fuel industries, and this is yet another example of it. We know from experience in Ohio already that bailouts involving the uneconomic OVEC coal plants that the only folks who benefit from coal plant bailouts are the owners of those coal plants while average electric customers are left footing the costs. Shoveling money originally meant to support rural communities to become more resilient towards plants already well past their prime and are a major source of pollution, instead of focusing on lowering electric customer costs and supporting more clean, efficient electricity is another example of Trump’s legacy of failure and overreach.”

Kentucky

“On the heels of receiving an inaugural “Undisputed Champion of Coal” award from an industry-backed pro-coal group, President Trump has announced $175 million in taxpayer-funded handouts to seven coal plants, including LG&E and KU’s Ghent Generating Station. The money, originally intended to support energy resiliency, efficiency, and greenhouse gas reductions in rural communities, will now instead subsidize new, expensive equipment on the Ghent plant, a move that Sierra Club has already previously opposed,” the Sierra Club informs us.

“Trump’s actions today deserve the title of unaffordable energy and deadly pollution champion,” said Julia Finch, Sierra Club Kentucky Chapter Director. “Despite renewable energy’s proven affordability and promise of good jobs, Trump would rather further tie our communities to coal that is simply no longer the safest or cost efficient option. We at Sierra Club Kentucky refuse to let Trump’s deadly and dangerous assault succeed. It’s our shared moral obligation to ensure future generations have access to a livable planet, along with breathable air and family-sustaining jobs. We are staying in the fight.”

“More handouts to Trump’s coal industry buddies will hike up our energy bills and make our communities sicker,” said Elisa Owen, Kentucky’s Beyond Coal Campaign Senior Organizer. “In order to make bills affordable, attract industrial investment, and secure good jobs for our families and neighbors, Kentucky must onboard more low-cost, renewable energy. Just this month, Bluegrass workers lost out on thousands of jobs tied to a new aluminum smelter now set for construction in Oklahoma, a state with much lower energy costs thanks to cheaper clean energy. What else will our state lose out on because of our leaders’ corporate allegiance?”

West Virginia

“On the heels of receiving an inaugural “Undisputed Champion of Coal” award from an industry-backed pro-coal group, President Trump has announced $175 million in taxpayer-funded handouts to seven coal plants, including Appalachian Power’s Amos and Mountaineer plants and Monongahela Power’s Fort Martin. The money, originally intended to support energy resiliency, efficiency, and greenhouse gas reductions in rural communities, will now instead subsidize new, expensive equipment for the aging plants, locking West Virginians into years of expensive, health-harming power,” the Sierra Club states.

“This week’s announcements add to this administration’s mounting legacy as the gravest threat yet to American health, clean air, clean water, and affordable living,” added Lisa Di Bartolomeo, West Virginia’s Beyond Coal Campaign Organizer. “Local families bear the brunt of health-harming air pollution, mounting hospital bills, missed work days, and unmanageable power bills. Coal is not a forward-looking energy solution. It keeps bills high and communities sick. To guarantee West Virginia’s place as an energy power house for future generations, our state must bring online more renewable energy that is cleaner, cheaper, and faster.”

North Carolina

“Trump announced the Department of Energy will throw a $175 million taxpayer-funded lifeline to six coal plants throughout the country, including Duke Energy’s Belews Creek in North Carolina. The DOE notes additional taxpayer money will be doled out to support coal plants in the future. The White House news came one day after Duke announced it banked $4.9 billion in profit in 2025. Trump also announced a new Executive Order directing the Department of Defense to purchase power from coal-burning power plants, but the impact on coal plants in North Carolina has yet to be determined,” the Sierra Club also shares.

“Duke Energy leaders quickly touted the opportunity to burn more coal under Trump just a few days after the 2024 election. Since then, the monopoly utility company has led efforts to undermine the very public health safeguards the Trump administration is gutting. Taking cues from Trump, Duke recently cancelled its offshore wind project that could have powered 1.5 million homes and placed an arbitrary cap on the benefits solar energy can provide to its customers. Now Duke is proposing yet another rate increase for North Carolina customers and asking state regulators to increase profits by awarding it one of the highest shareholder rates of return in the country, even though its customers will now assume more financial risk on new projects than ever before.

“The Sierra Club anticipates the EPA will soon release its final order repealing Biden’s Mercury Air Toxic Substances rule for coal plants, which would have applied to Duke’s Mayo and Roxboro coal plants, and is meant to protect communities from dangerous mercury. The N.C. Department of Health & Human Services has a statewide fish consumption warning for mercury, especially for “individuals who are pregnant or breastfeeding and children because of its potential effect on developing brains,” and notes a pathway for mercury entering our environment is from burning fossil fuels.”

It’s a travesty. It’s all a travesty, and seriously disappointing backward behavior from a nation that once led the world forward with new technology and cleaner air.