Trump announces $19M modernization of coal plant near Portage

By FRANCESCA PICA

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

A coal plant in central Wisconsin will receive millions of dollars in federal funding to undergo modernization after it was kept open longer than initially planned.

President Donald Trump announced $425 million in Defense Production Act funding to extend the lives of 13 U.S. coal plants. That includes a $19 million grant to modernize the 1.1-gigawatt Columbia Energy Center near Portage, operated by Madison-based utility Alliant Energy.

The modernization initiative will total about $48.5 million. It’s intended to boost “dependable baseload service and enhance the efficiency and environmental performance of the existing units,” Alliant said in a statement June 4.

“This approach keeps the facility operating safely as it continues to deliver affordable, reliable power in support of customers,” Alliant said.

Columbia’s two active units came online in the 1970s, and they currently ramp up during periods of peak demand. Alliant owns the largest share of the plant, with the remainder split between Madison Gas & Electric and Wisconsin Public Service Corporation.

The utility companies once had plans to shut down the plant, aiming for decommissioning by 2025. They delayed closure to mid-2026, citing energy supply concerns, before announcing that Columbia will operate through at least 2029.

The companies said in 2024 they would explore converting at least one of the units to natural gas.

Alliant has also delayed ending coal power generation at its other remaining coal-burning facility in Wisconsin, the Edgewater Generating Station near Sheboygan. It was initially scheduled for a coal-to-natural-gas conversion in 2022. The utility pushed it back to 2029.

Speaking in the Oval Office on June 4, Trump said new federal funding allows plants to “extend their operational lives for decades into the future, reinforce the reliability of our electric grid, which is really the biggest beneficiary, and most importantly, keep electricity prices very low for the American people.”

Republican lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, joined Trump in the Oval Office.

The announcement marks the latest step from Trump, a longtime supporter of coal power generation, to bolster the declining U.S. coal industry. The Trump administration previously ordered coal plants slated for retirement to remain open and significantly relaxed pollution standards.

The Trump administration’s support for coal has drawn condemnation from state and national environmental organizations.

Clean Wisconsin communications director Amy Barrilleaux said Alliant’s coal plants “should’ve been retired years ago,” pointing to the adverse health effects on local populations and the availability of increasingly cheap wind and solar power.

“We know that coal is awful – it’s expensive, it’s a dying fuel. Nobody’s saying they want more mercury, lead, carbon dioxide,” Barrilleaux said. “We want to move beyond that.”

The Trump administration has placed more restrictions on renewable energy, cutting clean energy tax incentives short and blocking new wind and solar projects on federal land. It also canceled nearly $8 billion in federal grants for hundreds of clean energy projects, all in states that voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.

Trump announced on June 4 another $200 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Energy to help restart a Maryland coal plant and build two new facilities in West Virginia and Alaska. They would be the first traditional coal-fired plants to come online since 2013.

Trump will also use $75 million in Defense Production Act funding to help construct a delayed coal export terminal in California.