
WASHINGTON, Oct 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. Energy Department said on Wednesday it closed a $1.5 billion loan to Wabash Valley Resources, LLC for an Indiana coal-powered fertilizer facility.
The project will restart a coal gasification plant idled since 2016 and modify it to produce 500,000 metric tons of anhydrous ammonia per year fueled by coal from a nearby mine and petcoke as feedstock, the department said. The loan aligns with a Trump administration policy to support coal, an industry that has shrunk in recent years due to competition from natural gas and renewable energy.