February 13, 2026 - The coal industry is enjoying a new prominence at the White House and a return to the nation’s energy equation.

After the shuttering of a number of coal fired power plants during the Obama and Biden Administrations, President Donald Trump has doubled down on coal’s future. The President, with coal miners looking on at the White House, signed an executive order this week which directs the Department of War and the Department of Energy leaders to collaborate to insure electricity provided to the nation’s military bases comes from companies which produce electricity generated by coal.

“We’ve never experienced anything quite like this. He is so serious about helping our business and we see a very, very quick trickle down of that enthusiasm that parlays immediately into action by everybody serving within his cabinet and administration,” said West Virginia Coal Association President Chris Hamilton.

Along with Trump’s order, the Energy Department unveiled plans to provide $175 Million in funding to modernize, upgrade, and extend the life of a several existing coal fired power plants across Appalachia. West Virginia had three plants on the list; AEP’s John Amos plant in Putnam County, AEP’s Mountaineer plant in Mason County, and Mon Power’s Fort Martin Power Station in Monongalia County. The project is aimed at extending the life of the power plants past the date when they were expected to become inefficient and close. That year was around 2040 to 2045.

“There’s real hope and optimism these plants will run well beyond that date when they are updated an modernized,” Hamilton added.

U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito said the recent Arctic blast which plunged most of the nation into frigid temperatures and coated everything with a layer of ice was a prime example of how important and necessary coal remains to the nation’s energy portfolio.

“During the cold snap we just had, 25 percent of our power at least was generated by coal. Fossil fuels accounted for like 80 or 90 percent,” Capito said in a briefing with West Virginia reporters.

Hamilton said the attitude toward coal has changed, not just because of the change in the White House, but the change in the need for reliable electric power.

“We’re being confronted with a very sudden, and unexpected, swell in electrical demand nationwide. It was something that was very unexpected and we have our utilities and all of the electrical generators now trying to revise the kind of power demands they are going to have to have and deliver,” said Hamilton.

“You want to really sever a nation from its economic and defense wherewithal, cut off its electrical supply and that was exactly where we were heading,” he added.

Engineering for the upgrades at the various facilities will get started immediately. Appalachian Power in a press release said they had applied for a $35 Million share. Those will include cooling tower and condenser upgrades at the John Amos plant and boiler upgrades at the Mountaineer plant. According to the company, “…both facilities will also see environmental performance benefits through electrostatic precipitator component replacements.” Appalachian Power officials say the upgrades will enhance operational efficiency, boost reliability, and extend the useful life of both plants.

“Amos and Mountaineer plants have served our customers and the nation for decades,” said Aaron Walker, APCo president and COO in a press release regarding the program. “This grant will allow us to make key investments in these plants and ensure they continue to provide reliable service for years to come. Seeking federal grants is just one of the many ways we are helping to address the affordability concerns of our customers, and we are grateful for the leadership and support from the U.S. DOE and the state of West Virginia.”

But not everybody was thrilled with the announcement. The Sierra Club and other fossil fuel opponents referred to the program as a “…$175 Million dollar taxpayer funded hand-out” to the industry. In a press release condemning the program the environmentalist group said the funds were initially intended to support energy resiliency, efficiency, and greenhouse gas reduction in rural areas. But now, according to the Sierra Club, those dollars are being used to “….subsidize new, expensive equipment for the aging plants, locking West Virginians into years of expensive, health-harming power.”

“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,” said 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.”