February 24, 2026 - The Trump administration is implementing several policies designed to support West Virginia’s coal industry, according to Governor Patrick Morrisey.

The Trump administration has been phenomenal to work with. And it’s really benefiting West Virginia in many ways. We’ve had a series of meetings this week and of developments over the last few weeks that are really going to make a difference in West Virginia.

A key initiative involves extending the operating life of coal-fired power plants.

First, last week we ended up having an announcement that there were resources to help extend the useful life of the coal plants. That’s really, really important because you need to make sure you extend them. Otherwise they’re expected to go up south in some cases by 2035. Once again, if we can extend that out to 2050, that makes a real difference for West Virginia.

Regulatory changes are also underway.

Second, we worked closely with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on having a simplified system for regulation and where the state has primacy to regulate the mining that’s done on the federal lands. That’s a big win for West Virginia.

Morrisey announced employment initiatives as well.

I just signed off on an initiative that’s going to put more coal miners to work. And with a lot of the challenges of people losing their jobs. On the cold front recently. It’s always important to keep doubling down, to look for every way we can get people back to work. And so those initiatives are really mattering.

The governor stressed coal’s continued importance.

Coal remains important for West Virginia, but we’re also looking to gas as well. There are a lot of opportunities to fuel the power demand needs of the next 25 years.