FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — President Donald Trump's vow to save the coal industry will be tested this week when a utility board he appoints weighs whether to close a coal-fired power plant in Kentucky whose suppliers include a mine owned by one of his campaign donors.
An environmental assessment by the Tennessee Valley Authority recommends shuttering the remaining coal-fired unit at the Paradise Fossil Plant in Muhlenberg County. The board could vote on the proposal Thursday.
Trump tweeted his support of the plant earlier this week.
A coal mine that has supplied the plant in the past is owned by a subsidiary of Murray Energy Corporation, whose CEO Robert E. Murray has donated to Trump's campaign. A company spokesman said employees attended a meeting last week urging the TVA to keep the plant open.
