The Tennessee Valley Authority applied for and received more than $46 million in funding from the Trump administration to support a $115 million investment in its largest coal-fired power plant, previously scheduled to close by 2028.
President Donald Trump invoked the Defense Production Act of 1950 to authorize spending $425 million to support 13 coal plants, including TVA’s Cumberland Fossil Plant in Stewart County, Tennessee.
The TVA board of directors voted in February to reverse a prior board’s decision under former President Joe Biden to close the plant’s two units in 2026 and 2028. The nation’s largest government-owned power provider generated 15% of its electricity at coal plants last year. The Cumberland plant can supply enough electricity for 1.4 million homes and employs around 245 people, according to TVA.
The U.S. Department of Energy will provide TVA around $46 million and TVA will invest $69 million through the matching-style program.