← Videos · Energy & Permitting

Secretary Wright Announces a $625 Million Coal Investment with Maria Bartiromo, Sept. 29, 2025

September 29, 2025 · U.S. Department of Energy · 0:08:17

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

On Fox Business, Secretary Wright announced, as he stated it, expanded programs to help the American coal industry, including funding to upgrade existing coal plants, keep them open, and add pollution controls so they run cleaner and better, as he stated it. The host put, as she stated it, the Department of Energy’s figure at a $625 million investment to expand and reinvigorate the industry. Wright said, as he stated it, that coal is the third-largest source of U.S. electricity after natural gas and nuclear, is the backbone of steel production, and is critical for cement, as he stated it, and that the department is delaying retirement of most coal plants, as the host described the policy.

Wright said, as he stated it, that the private marketplace will decide what gets built, that the administration will stop weighting the scale toward only wind and solar, and that coal provides 15 to 16 percent of U.S. electricity, as he stated it. He put, as he stated it, coal at 28 percent of total global energy and wind, solar, and batteries together at 2.6 percent, and said the United States will export more coal and remove burdensome regulations and outright bans on coal exports, as he stated it.

On permitting, Wright said, as he stated it, that he expects more bipartisan consensus around permitting reform legislation and further changes to EPA rules under the administration, as he stated it.

Why it matters

Coal is where the administration’s energy-addition policy meets a specific dollar figure and a specific mechanism — upgrade funding plus delayed retirements — making this announcement the reference point for what the coal program actually delivered.

Scoreboard watch

The $625 million coal investment announced in this appearance, as stated by the host and Secretary Wright, is a checkable program figure against the Department of Energy’s announcement. Flagged as a scoreboard candidate for the editor; no verdict is published from this page.

Sources: U.S. Department of Energy, “Secretary Wright Joins Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo - September 29, 2025”, 2025-09-29 (official upload, embedded above; published 2025-09-29). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.