US orders unit at TransAlta coal plant in Washington state to stay open

WASHINGTON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. energy secretary signed an order on Tuesday to keep a unit open at TransAlta TA.TO coal power plant in Washington state through much of the winter, in the latest move by the Trump administration to support fossil fuels.

The order directs unit 2 of the Centralia Generating Station to remain open. It has been scheduled to shut at the end of 2025, but the order is in effect until March 16, 2026.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Reuters in September that the administration expects that most of the country's coal plants will delay retirement to deliver electricity needed to fuel artificial intelligence. Wright said the U.S. government had been in discussions with utilities nationwide and expects the majority of the several dozen U.S. coal plants nearing retirement to delay closure.

Coal releases more of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide when burned than any other fossil fuel. U.S. power generation from coal-burning plants has risen this year on electricity demand from manufacturing and artificial intelligence.

Last month the administration of President Donald Trump ordered for a third time the J.H. Campbell coal-fired plant in Michigan to stay open, despite its majority owner saying doing so has already cost tens of millions of dollars. That plant is now set to keep running through mid February.