The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced on Thursday that it will contribute more than $46 million toward a “comprehensive coal revitalization” plan at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Cumberland Fossil Fuel Plant, with the total project valued at about $116 million.
According to the Thursday release by the DOE, “This project aims to restore reliability, enhance efficiency, and extend the operational life of the coal-fired assets to meet regional demand for dispatchable power.”
It appears to completely reverse the TVA’s previous decision, made under President Joe Biden’s administration in 2023, to retire the plant’s coal facilities entirely. The plan included replacing facility’s 2,470-megawatt producing coal facility, which is the largest in TVA’s fleet, with a 1,450-megawatt natural gas plant.
The TVA board, where members appointed by President Donald Trump now hold a majority, voted in February to instead take steps to keep the Cumberland coal facility operational.
On the web page for the Cumberland Fossil Plant, the utility explains, “Due to rapidly increasing power demand and changes in the regulatory landscape, the TVA Board announced steps to allow for the continued operation of Cumberland in accordance with all applicable permits and regulatory requirements.”
According to TVA, “The coal-fired units would operate alongside additional gas generation currently under construction at an adjacent site.”
Last month, the utility also referenced the natural gas expansion at the Cumberland Fossil Plant as one of the facilities that will drive a net increase to its energy production. It revealed the natural gas “combined-cycle combustion turbines” being developed at Cumberland will be the first used by TVA, and said it expects them to begin producing “by the end of this calendar year.”
The federal funding is made possible through Title III of the Defense Production Act, which Trump used in April to declare the nation’s coal supply and energy production to be “critical technology items essential to the national defense.”
The change in TVA’s stance on coal and shifting board compositions are only a few of the changes made under the Trump administration. Shortly after the president signed an executive order capping executive compensation at TVA to $500,000 in April, CEO Don Moul announced his intention to resign on July 1. He began leading the utility in April 2025.
One of Trump’s appointees to the TVA board, businessman Lee Beaman of Tennessee, continues to wait for the U.S. Senate to consider his nomination. Renominated by Trump in January, the Senate previously declined to advance Beaman’s appointment last year.
– – –
Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
