What a win! On September 11, a federal appeals court struck down the Trump administration’s illegal emergency order forcing Consumers Energy to keep the J.H. Campbell coal plant in West Michigan running after its planned shutdown in May 2025. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued the original order despite the lengthy and vigorous review process and approval by the Michigan Public Service Commission, the consent of MISO (the regional grid operator) and the careful plans by Consumers Energy to shut down the plant.
“This sham energy emergency that the Trump administration has been using to keep the Campbell coal plant open simply didn't exist," said Jan O’Connell, senior energy organizer with the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter. “The court ruling against the DOE is a big step in the right direction, with the Sierra Club instead focusing on the real emergencies: astronomical utility bills, health issues and a climate crisis worsened by toxic fossil fuel emissions from an aging coal-powered plant.”
“The court's decision is a major step toward retiring the J.H. Campbell coal plant. The innumerable letters, attendance at community meetings, petition signatures and all the ways many of you voiced your concerns against keeping the coal plant running are a major reason we’ve reached this great victory,” said Tamara Horne, Michigan Sierra Club clean energy organizer.
“This 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 scheduled, and we will continue to fight back against the other illegal extensions across the country.”
We look forward to the day when neighbors don’t hear the J.H. Campbell plant running or the coal cars continuing to bring loads of dirty and dusty coal across the country to the Campbell complex next to Lake Michigan, and can instead enjoy cleaner air and water. There may be an appeal filed by DOE, and Sierra Club is planning how to use the court’s opinion to vacate the current, active order that's keeping the plant running.