Trump Awards TerraSpark $18M Coal Grant as Favoritism Concerns Cloud $1 Billion Plant
Updated
Updated · POLITICO · Jun 12
Trump Awards TerraSpark $18M Coal Grant as Favoritism Concerns Cloud $1 Billion Plant
2 articles · Updated · POLITICO · Jun 12
Summary
$18 million in federal funding went to TerraSpark to design a new coal plant, but the little-known company lacks coal experience and does not own the proposed site.
Alex Phillips, TerraSpark's leader, is a longtime Trump ally whose political ties — rather than energy credentials — are drawing scrutiny even from fossil-fuel backers and former Trump officials.
The administration says favoritism played no role, yet supporters of the project say politics could make financing harder for a plant expected to cost well over $1 billion.
Texas offers a parallel warning: subsidies helped bring 900 of 1,200 megawatts of new gas capacity online, but cheap renewables still limit how far public support can revive fossil generation.