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DOE Backs Coal Plants With Carbon Capture
Coverage from Clean Air Task Force, E&E News by POLITICO, and others
The U.
S. Department of Energy is backing studies to restore, modernize, or develop coal-fired power plants paired with carbon capture, while emphasizing carbon dioxide utilization in manufacturing and oil production. Four selected projects span Puerto Rico, Maryland, Alaska, and West Virginia and include feasibility, design, or recommissioning work rather than confirmed commercial construction. The direction links grid reliability and expanded coal use with carbon-management technologies, but project maturity, capture performance, financing, and long-term operation remain uncertain.
The update mainly sharpens the story around DOE's June 2026 selections, adding a clearer financing and project-stage picture rather than introducing a new direction. It also newly identifies the DOE Loan Programs Office and a West Virginia proposal as still lacking a confirmed site and electricity customers.
The story is largely unchanged, but the framing has shifted slightly toward the uncertainty around whether federal coal support will translate into real capture or storage. The current version also broadens the description of project stages and emphasizes DOE's carbon-dioxide utilization agenda more explicitly.