Federal court strikes down Trump administration order to keep Michigan coal plant open

A federal appeals court has ruled that the U.S. Department of Energy exceeded its legal authority by forcing the J. H. Campbell Generating Plant in Michigan to remain operational past its scheduled retirement date.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a unanimous decision stating that the emergency powers granted under the Federal Power Act are a ‘narrow, last-resort backstop’ and cannot be used to override state-approved retirement plans in the absence of a genuine, immediate crisis.

The Trump administration, led by Energy Secretary Chris Wright, had invoked emergency powers to keep the 64-year-old coal plant running, citing the need for regional electricity reliability and the demands of data centers. However, the court found no such emergency existed to justify bypassing the planned decommissioning, which had been approved by Michigan regulators and the regional grid operator, MISO.

The ruling is a significant legal setback for the administration’s efforts to extend the life of fossil-fuel plants. The Michigan case is part of a broader series of legal challenges against the administration’s use of emergency mandates to prevent the closure of coal-fired plants in several other states, including Indiana, Colorado, Florida, and Washington.