How Coal Giant Peabody’s Ideas Ended Up in Trump’s Coal Study

Days after Energy Secretary Rick Perry requested a study on how to help coal-fired power plants, a lobbyist for the largest U.S. coal producer contacted the department to offer his advice. Many of those ideas became part of the department’s efforts to help companies who provide the fuel source.

Emails obtained by the Sierra Club show that Travis Fisher, a senior adviser at the department who coordinated the report, sought and received input from Raymond Shepherd, a top Peabody Energy Corp. lobbyist in Washington.

“It occurred to me that the DOE study would be a good way to ...