CHARLESTON — State officials and federal lawmakers are praising a plan from the administration of President Donald Trump to breathe new life into the waning coal-fired power industry, though opponents said the plan will do little to slow the slide away from coal.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced Monday it would implement a $625 million plan to halt the decommissioning of coal-fired power plants, retrofit and modernize the nation’s existing fleet of coal-fired plants.

In a statement Monday afternoon, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said it was important to keep coal-fired power plants in operation to meet the energy needs of data centers and the growing use of artificial intelligence in commerce and the daily lives of people.

“Beautiful, clean coal will be essential to power

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