Federal court knocks down Trump’s order extending Michigan coal plant’s operations past retirement

A federal court on Friday blocked the Trump administration from keeping a decades-old Michigan coal plant open based on an “emergency” order. The 64-year-old coal plant was set to close as part of a transition to cleaner energy in May 2025, triggering an intervention by Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who argued it was needed to ensure reliable electricity in the region and prevent blackouts. Wright used emergency powers to keep the J.H. Campbell Generating Plant open through August 2026, along with a handful of other coal plants set to be retired. Recommended Stories The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit this week struck a blow to Wright’s actions, ruling in favor of environmental groups and three states — Michigan, Illinois, and Minnesota — who sued to stop the Energy Department’s orders. The three-judge panel unanimously agreed that the section of the Federal Power Act Wright invoked is meant only for situations requiring immediate federal action, not broader concerns about whether enough electricity will be available in the future. The section “is essentially a narrow, last-resort backstop,” Appeals Court Judge Cornelia Pillard wrote. By reversing the Campbell plant’s “long and carefully planned retirement … the results are disruptive,” the judge wrote. Critics said that keeping the Michigan plant open beyond its planned retirement has cost about $259 million so far, according to new financial filings. Wright warned that retiring the plant could have damning repercussions. TRUMP ROLLS BACK BIDEN REFRIGERATOR RULES AIMED TO LOWER GROCERY PRICES“[The] emergency order ensures that Michiganders and the greater Midwest region do not lose critical power generation capability as summer begins and electricity demand regularly reach high levels,” the energy secretary said in a statement announcing the order.“The energy sources that perform when you need them most are inherently the most valuable—that’s why beautiful, clean coal was the MVP during peak capacity events this past year,” he said earlier this year.