Trump Administration Loses First Court Case Challenging DOE Orders for Coal Plants

Trump Administration Loses First Court Case Challenging DOE Orders for Coal Plants

Victory

Court rules against the DOE order for the J.H. Campbell coal power plant in Michigan

Contacts

Kathryn McGrath, [email protected]

Today, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the Trump administration's abuse of emergency powers to force coal plants across the country to continue operating long-past their planned retirement.

The court affirmed that the DOE grossly overstepped its authority when it prevented the retirement of the J.H. Campbell coal plant. The court ruled that the Department's justification for the order - that it can keep a power plant open when there is no imminent need to do so - was unlawful.

"The court rebuked the Trump administration's abuse of emergency powers," said Michael Lenoff, Earthjustice attorney. "The DOE needs to stay in its lane and use its emergency powers only in actual emergencies. Preventing the market-driven retirements of coal plants to advance a coal-friendly agenda is not a proper use of emergency powers. We will continue to challenge unlawful orders if DOE persists in issuing them."

The court order finds that the DOE cannot invoke Section 202(c) unless it establishes a genuine emergency. The court agreed that the federal government may not override well-established long-term planning processes to force an old, polluting coal plant to continue to operate. The court further affirmed that the management of day-to-day fluctuations in demand and supply belongs to grid operators and utilities, while states and grid operators are ready and able to plan for future long-term demand growth. The order states, "the Department's reading of "emergency" invites frequent federal interventions that are unsupported by the statute and threaten the stability of the energy market."

There is no evidence that continued operation of Campbell and these other plants in Indiana, Colorado, Washington, and Florida is imminently needed, and the DOE should stop issuing orders requiring their operation.

Earthjustice argued the legal challenge against the Department of Energy's illegal application of Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act, representing the Sierra Club and Urban Core Collective. Earthjustice represents public interest groups challenging the DOE orders issued to six U.S. power plants in five states.

"Today's ruling is a victory for families across the Midwest who are tired of paying to keep this old, expensive, and dirty power plant online," said Sierra Club Chief Appellate Counsel Sanjay Narayan. "Instead of working to lower costs and clean up our air and water, the Trump administration has been pulling out all the stops to try to bolster dirty and expensive fossil fuels - at public expense. This reckless agenda will not succeed. We will continue to hold the Department of Energy accountable to the law, and ensure that the J.H. Campbell plant finally retires as it was scheduled to, and we will continue to fight back against the other illegal extensions across the country."

In May 2025, DOE issued an order under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act forcing the J.H. Campbell power plant to remain operational just days before it was due to retire. Since then, the "emergency" order has been re-issued six times by DOE. The costs of operating the coal plant unnecessarily for the last year exceeded $248 million in June, according to the company's SEC filings, a cost of $642,000 per day. At no point over the last year was the electricity from the power plant needed. The DOE orders overrode careful planning by the state and the grid operator, and tireless efforts by community members who advocated replacing this old, polluting, and uneconomic coal plant with cleaner sources of electricity.

Earthjustice, the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Law and Policy Center, Clean Air Task Force, and Environmental Defense Fund represented a large public interest coalition that petitioned the court to set aside DOE's order forcing the J.H. Campbell coal plant to operate. The states of Michigan, Minnesota, and Illinois, also petitioned the court.

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