U.S. coal plant decision returns to court: Federal government overstepped its authority

A significant decision emerged in the ABD coal plant debate between the federal government, states, and environmental groups. The Washington, D.C. Court of Appeals struck down the emergency order issued by Energy Secretary Chris Wright to allow the JH Campbell Energy Plant on the shores of Lake Michigan to continue operations.

The three-judge panel found the objections of Michigan, Illinois, and Minnesota and environmental groups to be justified. The ruling noted that while the federal government ordered the plant to remain open, it exceeded the authority granted to it under the Federal Energy Act.

"Emergency Authority as a Last Resort"

Judge Cornelia Pillard, who drafted the decision, stated that a ruling extending beyond a federal agency's legal authority could not be deemed lawful, thereby affirming the order's cancellation.

Pillard emphasized that the emergency authority granted under Section 202(c) of the Federal Energy Act is not a broad intervention tool. She noted that this power can only be invoked when a genuine emergency exists and specific conditions requiring the Ministry of Energy's intervention arise.

The court did not refer the file back to a lower court for reconsideration.

Shut Down Replaced by Operation

Energy Secretary Chris Wright issued an emergency order on May 23, 2025, to prevent the shutdown of the JH Campbell plant in Michigan. The order was one of five separate emergency directives he issued that year under the Federal Energy Act's Section 202(c).

With these orders, the planned closures of some older coal plants in Michigan, Washington, Indiana and Colorado have been averted, allowing the facilities to remain operational or to be brought back online when needed.

Wright previously argued that the decision would prevent more than 17 gigawatts of coal-based electricity generation from being taken offline and that this capacity is equivalent to the electricity needed by roughly 17 million households.

Government: "Preventing Power Outages"

The Energy Ministry said the emergency orders are critical to preserving the reliability of the electricity grid.

The ministry spokesperson said that the decisions in question helped prevent power outages especially during high‑demand periods in the winter months, and that hundreds of lives could have been saved.

According to the ministry, the JH Campbell Coal Plant operated at a capacity of over 650 megawatts each day between January 21 and February 1, during the period affected by Winter Storm Fern. The ministry announced that coal‑generated electricity in the affected regions rose by 25 percent compared with the same period of the previous year during the storm’s most severe phase.

Michigan Welcomes the Decision

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel welcomed the court’s ruling. Nessel argued that the federal government had employed an unused method to keep the aging, no longer desired JH Campbell plant operational.

Nessel said that the cost of operating the plant after the date it should have been shut down was also borne by taxpayers, and that she welcomed the court’s decision to overturn the federal government’s ruling.

Earthjustice attorney Michael Lenoff also described the ruling as an important step against the Trump administration’s excessive use of emergency powers. Lenoff argued that keeping coal plants slated for closure due to market conditions open to advance coal‑favored policies was not an appropriate use of emergency authority.

Michigan Maintains Its Clean Energy Target

The law adopted in Michigan in 2023 requires the state's electric utilities to gradually increase their use of clean energy. According to the regulation, 50% of electricity generation is to be sourced from clean energy by 2030, and 100% by 2040.

The Supreme Court's latest ruling signals a new phase in the legal and political battle between the federal administration's policy of keeping coal plants operational for energy security and the states' clean-energy transition goals.