In total, $51 million will go toward updates at coal plants for the Grand River Dam Authority and OG&E.
Grand River Dam Authority executive Dan Sullivan said the grant allows the GRDA to "leverage existing infrastructure" for more affordable and reliable power. The grant will pay to modernize a 40-year-old coal-fired plant called Unit 2 in Chouteau.
"Extending the life of Unit 2 represents the most cost-effective solution for GRDA, as compared to new-build generation alternatives," Sullivan said in a statement.
OG&E received the grant for a modernization project at its Sooner Power Station near Red Rock.
"This upgrade will strengthen grid reliability and improve operational efficiency by replacing the plant's aging systems, while delivering customer savings through lower maintenance costs," OG&E spokesperson Dustin Gabus said in a statement.
GRDA is slated to receive $28.5 million from the Department of Energy for the project, and around $50 million will be covered by "GRDA capital investment dollars," according to the GRDA's press release.
OG&E will receive $22.5 million from the DOE and will cover the remaining $35 million for its modernization project.
The money for these and a dozen other projects across the country comes from the Defense Production Act of 1950. President Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring a "National Energy Emergency" on the first day of his second presidency. Earlier this year, Trump used that to authorize the use of Defense Production Act funds for grid reliability projects.
When U.S. coal-fired electricity generation peaked in 2007, it supplied about half the power on the grid. In the past five years, only about 16% of the nation's electricity has come from coal, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Coal production has dipped in part due to rising mining costs and an understanding of mining risks, especially as alternative power sources have become more cost-competitive. Coal also comes with major environmental concerns. Burning coal emits large amounts of carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas. Burning coal also produces multiple emissions that can cause smog and contribute to respiratory illnesses.
Oklahoma is a power exporter, but not via coal. Since 2007, two of the fastest-growing energy sources across the U.S. have been natural gas and wind. According to the EIA's most recent data, nearly 7% of the natural gas and 9% of the wind power produced in the country came from Oklahoma. Oklahoma's coal production is negligible — in 2024, the state produced 0.00002% of the nation's coal.
But modernizing existing plants is significantly cheaper than constructing new ones, regardless of the power source. For example, the GRDA plant has a capacity of 520 megawatts, and its updates are expected to cost around $78 million total. New construction to produce that amount of electricity with wind would cost around $720 million, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's most recent data.
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
