The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced a $100 million funding opportunity to refurbish and modernize existing coal power plants, following a broader $625 million initiative to support America’s coal industry. The program aims to improve plant efficiency, lifespan, and performance, including projects on advanced wastewater management, coal-to-gas fuel switching, and coal-natural gas co-firing systems. Managed by DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory, applications are due by January 7, 2026. The DOE writes:
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for up to $100 million in federal funding to refurbish and modernize the nation’s existing coal power plants. It follows the Department’s September announcement of its intent to invest $625 million to expand and reinvigorate America’s coal industry. The effort will support practical, high-impact projects that improve efficiency, plant lifetimes, and performance of coal and natural gas use.
“For years, the Biden and Obama administrations relentlessly targeted America’s coal industry and workers, resulting in the closure of reliable power plants and higher electricity costs,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. “Thankfully, President Trump has ended the war on American coal and is restoring common sense energy policies that put Americans first. These projects will help keep America’s coal plants operating and ensure the United States has the reliable and affordable power it needs to keep the lights on and power our future.”
This effort supports President Trump’s Executive Orders, Reinvigorating America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Industry and Strengthening the Reliability and Security of the United States Electric Grid, and advances his commitment to restore U.S. energy dominance.
This NOFO seeks applications for projects to design, implement, test, and validate three strategic opportunities for refurbishment and retrofit of existing American coal power plants to make them operate more efficiently, reliably, and affordably:
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Development, engineering, and implementation of advanced wastewater management systems capable of cost-effective water recovery and other value-added byproducts from wastewater streams.
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Engineering, design, and implementation of retrofit systems that enable fuel switching between coal and natural gas without compromising critical operational parameters.
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Deployment, engineering, and implementation of advanced coal-natural gas co-firing systems and system components, including highly fuel-flexible burner designs and advanced control systems, to maximize gas co-firing capacity to provide a low cost retrofit option for coal plants while minimizing efficiency penalties.
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