Trump administration support extends operations at nearly half of U.S. coal plants

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Trump support for US coal plants

Highlights

EDF reports 24 coal plants receive $950 million in subsidies and 70 obtain toxic pollution exemptions, supporting nearly half the U.S. coal fleet.
EPA's 2024 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards were repealed in February after exemptions were granted to coal operators—Colstrip's compliance cited at $500 million cost.
White House claims policy prevented retirement of over 100 coal plants and preserved more than 17 gigawatts of power during Trump’s term.

EDF analysis details subsidies and pollution exemptions

As reported by The Guardian, citing the Environmental Defense Fund, 24 coal plants receive $950 million in taxpayer support and 70 plants get exemptions from toxic pollution limits under the Clean Air Act, with some also being required to remain online beyond planned retirement dates.

The analysis says these measures support almost half of the country’s operating coal fleet. Surbhi Sarang, director and senior attorney at the Environmental Defense Fund, says the administration is using multiple tools to prolong plant operations, raising electricity costs while also increasing pollution.

The group traces part of the dispute to the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, which first take effect in 2015 and cut dangerous power-plant pollution by more than 90%. The EPA strengthens those standards again in 2024, but companies are later invited in the early part of Trump’s second term to seek exemptions, with emails obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests showing cost concerns from plant operators.

At the Colstrip plant in Montana, EDF says owners NorthWestern Energy and Talen Energy request an exemption from updated fine particulate matter requirements. In a March 2025 email cited by the group, NorthWestern President and CEO Brian Bird tells the Department of Energy that compliance would cost $500 million, and the administration later grants an exemption before repealing the 2024 updated standards in February.

Plant operators and communities clash over costs and health impacts

NorthWestern, which becomes Colstrip’s majority owner earlier this year, describes the plant as a dependable bridge to cleaner energy while carbon-free alternatives are not yet commercially available at equivalent scale. Sarang argues the facility has not installed modern pollution controls and says compliance with the 2024 standards would have significantly reduced emissions affecting nearby communities, including the Northern Cheyenne reservation.

In Texas, NRG also seeks an exemption for its coal-fired facilities, including the WA Parish plant outside Houston, arguing in an email cited by EDF that stricter rules would force output reductions in critical areas and threaten grid affordability and reliability. Local residents have called for the plant to close, citing carbon emissions and hazardous particulate matter levels.

A 2018 Rice University study finds the WA Parish plant may be linked to as many as 177 premature deaths a year from PM 2.5 pollution. Rice professor Daniel Cohan says the exemptions let coal plants avoid the tougher 2024 standard, allowing financially marginal facilities to keep operating longer instead of retiring and being replaced by cheaper and cleaner sources.

The administration defends its coal policy in a statement, saying it has backed and saved more than 100 coal plants during Trump’s current term. White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers says the policy has prevented the retirement of more than 17 gigawatts of power and helped preserve reliable, affordable electricity during periods of high demand.

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