Coal plant support and exemptions
The Environmental Defense Fund analysis shows the Trump administration supported 90 out of 184 grid-connected coal plants through cash handouts, free passes to pollute, and requirements to stay online past retirement dates. This support helps plants continue operating even when they face economic and regulatory headwinds. The administration gave 70 coal plants Clean Air Act exemptions and provided $950m in taxpayer dollars to 24 plants. Surbhi Sarang, the director and senior attorney at the Environmental Defense Fund, says the administration leverages a multitude of tools to prop up coal plants. She says this is harming Americans by increasing electricity costs and pollution and adds that "it’s like Americans are getting hit twice."
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Total grid-connected coal plants analyzed | 184 |
| Plants receiving Trump administration support | 90 |
| Plants receiving taxpayer cash | 24 |
| Plants receiving Clean Air Act exemptions | 70 |
| Total taxpayer cash provided to 24 plants | $950m |
| Estimated cost for NorthWestern to comply with 2024 rules | $500m |
Colstrip and the cost of compliance
I find the administration’s decision to protect aging, dirty plants with taxpayer money an insult to the public. The Colstrip plant in Montana releases toxic chemicals like mercury, arsenic, lead, and nickel, which affects nearby communities such as the Northern Cheyenne reservation. NorthWestern Energy and Talen Energy, the owners of the plant, requested an exemption from the 2024 fine particulate matter requirements. These 2024 standards, which the EPA updated to further reduce harmful pollution from coal-fired power plants, reduced allowable emissions of nickel, arsenic, lead and other toxic metals from coal plants by two-thirds. NorthWestern, which became the majority owner of the Colstrip plant earlier this year, describes the facility as a dependable bridge to a cleaner energy future that supplies reliable energy until equivalent, carbon-free resources become commercially available. In March 2025, NorthWestern CEO Brian Bird emailed Department of Energy administrator Lee Zeldin to argue that complying with the new rule would cost $500m. He called the investment for a slight improvement to particulate matter capture "ludicrous." NorthWestern says its technology at the Colstrip plant is 99.6% efficient in removing filterable particulate emissions, but meeting the 2024 federal standards would require 99.8% efficiency by 2028.
Deadly emissions in Texas
The WA Parish plant near Houston, Texas, illustrates the human cost of these exemptions. Rice University professor Daniel Cohan says the plant is the "deadliest power plant in Texas." A 2018 Rice University study found the plant is responsible for as many as 177 premature deaths each year from PM 2.5 particles, which enter the bloodstream through the lungs. NRG, the plant owner, requested Department of Energy exemptions for all its coal-fired facilities to avoid "derating" and risks to grid reliability. NRG argued that complying with regulations with "razor thin margins" would risk the affordability of the grid. Cohan says that plants across the country were supposed to meet the 2024 updated standards, but the administration lets them off the hook from the more stringent version. This allows many coal plants to stay open longer. White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers issued a statement saying the administration backed and saved more than 100 coal plants this term and prevented the retirement of more than 17 gigawatts of power.
