Federal court rejects Trump order keeping Michigan coal plant open
A US federal appeals court has struck down the Energy Department's order forcing a Michigan coal plant to keep running past its retirement date, ruling there was no genuine emergency.
The US court of appeals for the District of Columbia circuit ruled on Friday that the Department of Energy exceeded its legal authority when it ordered the 64-year-old JH Campbell coal-fired plant in Michigan to remain operating past its scheduled 2025 retirement.
Energy secretary Chris Wright had invoked emergency powers, arguing the plant was needed to secure reliable electricity supply in the region. Michigan, Illinois and Minnesota, along with environmental groups, challenged the order in court.
Writing for a unanimous three-judge panel, Judge Cornelia Pillard said the Federal Power Act's emergency provision is meant to be a narrow, last-resort measure, and found no genuine emergency existed under the law. She noted that overturning the plant's long-planned retirement had proven disruptive.
The Michigan case is one of several similar legal battles nationwide, as the administration has used emergency powers to keep roughly half a dozen coal plants running, including facilities in Indiana, Colorado, Florida and Washington state. Critics say the orders raise electricity bills and cause avoidable pollution. A similar order also kept an oil and gas plant in Pennsylvania operating.
According to recent financial filings, keeping the Michigan plant open past its scheduled closure has cost around $259m so far, costs opponents say will likely fall on midwestern households and businesses.
Ted Kelly of the Environmental Defense Fund said the ruling rejected the administration's broader push to keep unreliable, money-losing coal plants running at ratepayers' expense. Sierra Club attorney Sanjay Narayan called the decision a win for midwestern families who have been paying for the plant's continued operation, adding that the group would keep challenging similar extensions elsewhere. The Energy Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
