A federal appeals court on Friday ruled that the Energy Department exceeded its authority in ordering a Michigan coal plant to stay open past its planned retirement, a defeat for President 
Donald Trump's administration. The decision, from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, concerns the J.H. Campbell Generating Plant, PBS NewsHour reported.
What did the court find? The court, PBS NewsHour reported, sided with environmental groups and three states — Michigan, Illinois and Minnesota — that had sued to overturn the orders, finding no real emergency under the law. The emergency section of the Federal Power Act "is essentially a narrow, last-resort backstop," Judge Cornelia Pillard said in an opinion for a unanimous three-judge panel. That authority is "triggered only when there is a need for immediate, essentially last-resort action" and the circumstances require the department, not the states responsible for resource adequacy, to act, she said. She called reversing the plant's "long and carefully planned retirement" "disruptive."
How has the administration defended the orders? Energy Secretary Chris Wright had said the 64-year-old plant was needed to ensure reliable electricity in the region, and Trump declared a national energy emergency in a January 2025 executive order that, as PBS NewsHour reported, cited demand from artificial intelligence and data center growth. A department spokesperson said the emergency orders "prevented blackouts and likely saved hundreds of lives during peak capacity events this past year," especially during winter storms in late January and early February. Spokeswoman Emily Matthews said Campbell supplied over 650 megawatts daily from Jan. 21 to Feb. 1.
What do opponents say? Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, said she was relieved the court "threw out DOE's order that had zero basis in reality." Keeping the plant open beyond its May 2025 retirement has cost about $259 million so far, new financial filings show, and opponents say Midwest families and businesses will likely pay. Critics say the orders, which also apply to plants in Indiana, Colorado, Florida and Washington state, are raising ratepayer bills and adding avoidable air and water pollution. Sanjay Narayan, a Sierra Club lawyer, said the group would "continue to fight back against the other illegal extensions across the country."
What happens to the plant now? Consumers Energy, which operates Campbell, said it was reviewing the ruling and would keep it running meanwhile under a recent Energy Department order extending the directive through mid-November.
Figures referenced: Donald Trump. — JudgeMarket.
