The U.S. Energy Department is planning to fund competitive research and development of innovative coal generation technologies in the 2019 fiscal year, according to a Nov. 14 announcement. The agency envisions coal plants of the future to be “Flexible, Innovative, Resilient, Small and Transformative” under the new “Coal FIRST” initiative. The move stems from request for information issued in May to develop modular coal-based power plants built with advanced methods to meet the requirements of the evolving electric grid. The department expects the small-scale design to be cheaper, more efficient, low-emitting, and operationally flexible. The agency expressed concerns over the resiliency of electric supply due to coal plant retirement, and underscored that the need for dispatchable generation, ancillary services, and grid reliability open opportunities for advanced coal technologies. In February the department announced funding for carbon capture and transformational coal technologies. The Trump administration has been exploring ways to aid the dwindling coal industry.