A federal court has ruled that the Energy Department overstepped its authority when it ordered a Michigan coal-fired power plant to remain open beyond its scheduled retirement date. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit sided with environmental groups and three states in overturning the Trump administration's directive.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright had invoked emergency powers to keep the 64-year-old J.H. Campbell Generating Plant operating, citing the need for reliable electricity in the region. However, the court found no emergency as defined by law to justify the order. Appeals Court Judge Cornelia Pillard wrote for a unanimous three-judge panel that reversing the plant's "long and carefully planned retirement" was disruptive and that there was no "emergency" within the meaning of the statute.
The ruling marks a setback for the Trump administration's broader effort to use emergency powers to keep a half-dozen coal-fired plants operational across the country. Critics argue these orders, which also affect plants in Indiana, Colorado, Florida, and Washington state, as well as an oil and gas plant in Pennsylvania, are increasing electricity costs for consumers and contributing to air and water pollution.
Financial filings indicate that keeping the Michigan plant open past its May 2025 retirement date has already cost approximately $259 million, a cost opponents say is being borne by families and businesses in the Midwest. Ted Kelly, U.S. clean energy director at the Environmental Defense Fund, stated that the court's decision rejected the administration's attempt to prolong the operation of "unreliable, aging coal plants that are bleeding money and polluting communities."
Sanjay Narayan, a lawyer for the Sierra Club, called the ruling a victory for those in the Midwest who are paying for the continued operation of an "old, expensive and dirty power plant." He added that the administration's "reckless agenda" to support fossil fuels at public expense would not succeed and that further legal challenges against similar orders would continue.