President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he’s sending $75 million to help pay for the construction of a coal export terminal in West Oakland.
In oval office remarks, Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to invest $700 million in the coal industry, with the bulk of the money — $425 million — to support 13 existing coal plants across the country. Another $185 million will be used to build two new plants in Alaska and West Virginia, and to resume production at a facility in Maryland.
“Starting this summer, the West Gateway project will break ground, and by summer 2028, over 12 million tons of clean beautiful coal per year will be shipped to countries all around the world,” Trump said, referring to the West Oakland coal terminal.
Calling previous administration’s efforts to fund a clean energy economy the “green new scam,” Trump falsely blamed former presidents Joseph Biden and Barack Obama for delaying the Oakland terminal: neither took any steps to stop the project.
Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon thanked Trump at the press conference. Gordon said he recently visited Japan and Taiwan, and that Asian countries are interested in purchasing “clean” coal from the United States. Officials tried and failed to do this through West Coast ports during Trump’s first term, he said.
“To be able to open that Oakland port is absolutely essential for the lifeblood of our state and our coal mines,” Gordon said.
Trump’s plans for major investments in the coal industry were reported by Politico’s E&E News last month.
The administration funding is a major boon for developer Phil Tagami and his company, Oakland Bulk Oversized Terminal.
Tagami has been trying to build the fossil fuel transit hub for over a decade but has faced staunch opposition from city leaders, residents, and environmental activists who are worried about pollution and climate change. In several court battles, Tagami’s companies have beaten back legal challenges and successfully sued the city for stalling construction of the terminal.
Coal has always been a centerpiece of Trump’s energy policy but the president’s announcement also comes during a protracted war with Iran that has constricted oil supplies and driven energy costs higher. The Defense Production Act gives the president broad authority to take certain measures, including financial grants and loans, to expand production of strategic resources.
News about Trump’s expected announcement prompted outrage from environmental groups. Kit Kennedy, a managing director with the Natural Resources Defense Council, told Bloomberg, “Propping up coal billionaires with taxpayer money is one more way for the Trump administration to put polluters first and put the rest of us at risk.”
Environmental advocates in Oakland have been strategizing new ways block the construction of a terminal. Organizers with No Coal in Oakland, a group of city residents and environmentalists, recently petitioned the Bay Area Air District to impose stricter air regulations that would make it more difficult for any planned coal terminal to operate.
They’re also busy resurrecting a coalition of residents, activists, union organizers, and faith leaders to stop construction. The goal of the campaign is to drive away potential investors, making it financially infeasible to build the terminal. Trump’s announcement will make that ambition harder to realize.
A decade-long battle over the planned Oakland coal terminal
In 2015, media outlets reported that Utah officials were planning to invest in a terminal that would ship coal through Oakland to overseas markets. The terminal would be located in West Oakland on the former Oakland Army Base. This site is owned by the city, not the Port of Oakland.
The proposal prompted backlash from the public. Many were concerned about the prospect of coal trains releasing particulate matter in West Oakland, where residents are already burdened by air pollution from industrial operations and highways.
Then-Mayor Libby Schaaf and several City Councilmembers, including former District 1 representative Dan Kalb, mounted a legislative attempt to stop Tagami’s project. In 2016, the City Council banned the handling and storage of coal within the city. The developers responded by suing Oakland for breaching its contract.
What followed were a series of courtroom losses for Oakland. In 2018, a federal judge sided with Tagami’s company and ruled that the city’s coal ban didn’t apply to the terminal project. While the case was pending, Oakland officials terminated OBOT’s lease for the land. They argued that the developers had failed to meet construction deadlines.
OBOT sued the city again in 2020, alleging that Oakland was responsible for the delays. In 2023, an Alameda County Superior Court judge agreed with OBOT and ruled that Oakland had improperly terminated its contract. Oakland appealed and lost, and in 2025, the state Supreme Court declined to review the appellate ruling.
This paved the way for Tagami and OBOT to pursue the terminal. In previous interviews, Tagami has indicated that the original proposed terminal will proceed as planned. He has also estimated that the first cargo ships could start leaving the terminal within two years.
Oakland isn’t totally free from coal litigation. Insight Terminal Solutions, a company that wants to operate the terminal, alleged in federal court that Oakland interfered with efforts to develop the project, leading to the firm’s bankruptcy. Insight Terminal Solutions claims that Oakland owes hundreds of millions of dollars, which city officials deny. A federal judge in Kentucky is currently reviewing the matter.
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