U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) is applauding the executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Wednesday directing the Department of Defense to work more closely with the coal industry.

The executive order prioritizes power purchase agreements between the Department and coal production facilities, which will go toward military installations and facilities.

Capito says this will help keep coal production thriving in West Virginia and will help keep jobs open for people, like coal miners.

“What this does, not only for us, is that it keeps our power generation going in West Virginia, but it keeps our coal miners working,” Capito said. “There was a young woman who spoke who is a truck driver there – gets to live in her own community that she loves so much, where the coal mine is located. These are good-paying jobs that are very respected jobs, and I think it would have a good impact on West Virginia.”

Shortly after the president signed the executive order, the U.S. Department of Energy also announced on Wednesday $175 million in funding for six projects across four states.

On Thursday, Appalachian Power Company announced it had been approved for some of that funding for upgrades to the John Amos Power Plant in Putnam County and the Mountaineer Power Plant in Mason County. While APCo says they applied for a $35 million grant, they do not yet know how much the DOE approved.