Federal Court Strikes Down Order Forcing Michigan Coal Plant to Stay Open

A federal appeals court on Friday ruled that the Energy Department overstepped its legal authority when it used emergency powers to keep a Michigan coal-fired power plant operating beyond its scheduled retirement last year, handing the Trump administration a setback in its push to prolong the life of aging coal facilities.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit sided with environmental groups and three states — Michigan, Illinois and Minnesota — that had challenged the orders keeping the J.H. Campbell Generating Plant online. Energy Secretary Chris Wright had argued the 64-year-old plant was needed to maintain reliable electricity in the region.

Writing for a unanimous three-judge panel, Judge Cornelia Pillard said the provision of the Federal Power Act that permits emergency orders "is essentially a narrow, last-resort backstop." She wrote that reversing the plant's "long and carefully planned retirement" produced disruptive results, and concluded there was "no 'emergency' within the meaning" of the statute.

The Michigan dispute is one of several legal battles unfolding across the country as the administration invokes emergency powers to prevent roughly half a dozen coal-fired plants from closing. The orders also cover facilities in Indiana, Colorado, Florida and Washington state. An oil and gas plant in Pennsylvania was likewise directed to keep its turbines running as a hedge against electricity shortages in the mid-Atlantic grid.

Critics say the extensions are driving up ratepayer bills and adding air and water pollution that could have been avoided. Keeping the Michigan plant open beyond its May 2025 retirement has cost about $259 million so far, according to new financial filings, and opponents of the order say those losses will likely fall on families and businesses in the Midwest.

Ted Kelly, U.S. clean energy director at the Environmental Defense Fund, said the ruling rejected a nationwide effort to force "unreliable, aging coal plants that are bleeding money and polluting communities to stay online." He said the department's "unlawful actions attempted to make families and businesses in the Midwest wastefully pay hundreds of millions of dollars for a coal plant that should have been shut down over a year ago," describing the Campbell plant and similar sites as "incredibly expensive, dangerous to our health and break down frequently."

Sanjay Narayan, a lawyer for the Sierra Club, called the decision a victory for Midwestern families "paying to keep this old, expensive and dirty power plant online." He said the administration "has been pulling out all the stops to try to bolster dirty and expensive fossil fuels at public expense," adding that the group would continue to challenge other extensions across the country.

The Energy Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.