Bosses at world's most ambitious clean coal plant kept problems secret for years

Disclosure regarding the $7.5bn Kemper plant in Mississippi throws further cloud over promise of clean coal energy.

Southern, the country’s second-largest electrical utility, received over $380m from the Department of Energy on the condition that the project could generate affordable electricity, on schedule. But it does not appear to be under any immediate pressure to repay the money.

It maintains close ties to top Trump administration officials. Rick Perry, described by Bloomberg as an “old friend” of Fanning, now helms the energy department as it navigates calls to “claw back” federal funds spent on Kemper.