Trump’s Coal Plant Bailout Wastes Taxpayer Dollars
The Trump administration is providing hundreds of millions of dollars to keep old coal plants from closing and to build two new coal plants.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Trump administration is providing hundreds of millions of dollars to keep old coal plants from closing and to build two new coal plants, according to news reports, a stunning waste of taxpayer funds for a fuel that has been on decline for two decades.
Because coal is uncompetitive economically, no new plant has been built since 2013, and coal’s share of electricity production dropped from more than half two decades ago to just 16 percent today. Americans have already spent an extra $336 million on six coal plants that the U.S. Department of Energy forced to stay open since last May.
The following is a comment from Kit Kennedy, managing director for power at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council):
“What’s next, a taxpayer bailout to build new phone booths?
“First this administration tried to ban clean energy projects, and when that failed in the courts, it started cutting checks to pay off companies so they won’t produce cheap power. Now it’s taking our tax dollars and giving them to the owners of the oldest, dirtiest power plants—and subsidizing uneconomic new coal plant construction.
“This is going to mean higher bills and dirtier air. What a waste.
“Propping up coal billionaires with taxpayer money is one more way for the Trump administration to put polluters first and put the rest of us at risk. The best thing for the air, the climate and our utility bills is to let these plants retire peacefully.
“The Trump administration’s claim that this has to do with national security is just another false pretext. Instead of bailing out dirty energy, why don’t they end their attacks on cheap, plentiful wind and solar power? That’s the surest way to cut our bills and end our dependence on volatile global energy markets.”
NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd).