DOE Finalizes $1.5B Loan for Carbon‑Capture Ammonia Plant

The Department of Energy finalized a $1.5 billion loan to Wabash Valley Resources to restart and repurpose a shuttered Duke coal gasification plant in West Terre Haute into a coal- and petcoke-fed ammonia fertilizer facility expected to produce about 500,000 metric tons of anhydrous ammonia per year. Company officials say the project will operate with “no emissions” by capturing, liquefying and injecting roughly 1.65 million tons of CO2 annually into rock formations more than 4,000 feet underground. Supporters, including Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Indiana Republican leaders, say the project will create jobs, strengthen domestic fertilizer supply chains and was financed under the Energy Dominance Financing Program. Critics and environmental groups counter that carbon capture is expensive, largely unproven at scale, may not actually lower emissions, and that subsidizing a fossil‑fuel‑based plant perpetuates reliance on coal. The loan had a conditional commitment from the Biden Department of Energy in September 2024 and was reviewed and finalized under the Trump administration after negotiations over terms.