US appeals court finds overreach in Michigan coal plant case
A federal appeals court in the United States ruled that the Department of Energy exceeded its authority when it ordered the J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant in Michigan to continue operating after its planned retirement. As Mongabay reports, citing the Associated Press, the decision was unanimously adopted by a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Court found no emergency
Energy Secretary Chris Wright had stated that the 64-year-old plant was needed for reliable electricity supplies in the region. The department used emergency powers to prevent its closure. Environmental groups, as well as the states of Michigan, Illinois and Minnesota, challenged the orders in court.
Judge Cornelia Pillard wrote that the provision of the Federal Power Act allowing emergency orders is a narrow mechanism of last resort. The court concluded that the situation surrounding J.H. Campbell was not an emergency within the meaning of the law. Pillard also noted that reversing the plant's long-planned and carefully prepared retirement has destabilizing consequences.
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Cost of operating the plant
According to officials, keeping the power plant operating cost at least $135 million in 2025. The Michigan case is one of several legal disputes arising from the Trump administration's use of emergency powers to prevent the closure of about six coal-fired power plants in the United States.
Ted Kelly, director of clean energy at the Environmental Defense Fund in the United States, said the court's decision rejected the administration's attempts to keep old coal-fired power plants operating. According to him, the Campbell plant and other aging facilities are expensive, harmful to health and frequently break down. The US Department of Energy did not provide an immediate comment on the court's decision.
