Indiana project aims to reduce America’s heavy reliance on fertilizer imports from countries like Russia
The Department of Energy is finalizing a $1.5 billion loan for a first-of-its-kind project that will transform a shuttered Indiana coal plant into a fertilizer plant, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.
The project’s developer, Wabash Valley Resources, will use coal from a southern Indiana mine and petcoke, a byproduct of refined crude oil, to produce 500,000 metric tons of fertilizer a year, according to the Department of Energy. The project, which will use existing infrastructure, could help shore up domestic fertilizer production and reduce America’s heavy reliance on fertilizer imports from countries like Russia. The United States imported $8.7 billion worth of fertilizer in 2024.
Wabash Valley Resources purchased the plant from power company Duke Energy in 2016. Duke Energy was forced to retire the plant as part of a settlement it reached with a coalition of left-wing environmental groups led by the Sierra Club, which argued the plant was costly and posed a health threat to nearby communities.
“For too long, America has been dependent on foreign sources of fertilizer,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement. “Under President Trump’s leadership, we are changing that by putting America first, relying on American coal, American workers, and American innovation to power our farms and feed our families.”
The loan predates the Trump administration. In September 2024, former president Joe Biden’s Department of Energy provided Wabash Valley Resources with a conditional commitment for the loan. However, Biden officials failed to close on that loan following President Donald Trump’s electoral victory as they raced to finalize loans for electric vehicle, solar, and wind projects that were more politically aligned with the Biden administration’s climate agenda.
After taking office, Trump officials initiated a review of the loan and engaged in negotiations with executives at Wabash Valley Resources to modify some of its terms. The Department of Energy said Wednesday that its decision to finalize the loan ultimately delivers on “the Trump administration’s promise to responsibly steward taxpayer dollars and unleash American energy dominance.”
It represents the second Biden-era energy loan the Trump administration has closed on. Earlier this month, the Department of Energy closed on a $1.6 billion loan for a power line project stretching across the Midwest.
Both actions suggest the Trump administration is willing to move forward on Biden-backed projects so long as they help satisfy President Donald Trump’s sweeping economic agenda. The coal-to-fertilizer project, for example, promises to reduce imports, provide relief to farmers, and boost the coal industry.
The project also promises to revitalize a region that has been marked by declining industry and aging factories—and which Trump has vowed to transform from the Rust Belt to the “Golden Belt.”
“For President Trump, the agenda is: what can we do to lower energy costs for Americans and build more energy infrastructure, whether it is data centers or manufacturing,” Wright said earlier this month in response to a Free Beacon question about his agency’s lending activity. “Our focus is solely on: how does it benefit American taxpayers, workers, and ratepayers?”
Read the full article here
