Federal appeals court strikes down Trump DOE order keeping Michigan coal plant running

A three-judge panel ruled that the Department of Energy exceeded its legal authority when it invoked emergency powers to block the closure of the J.H. Campbell coal plant, saying the statute does not support such federal intervention to pre

First covered Sep 11, 2026 · 8:12 AM PT · 8 articles · no longer in the live window

Federal appeals court strikes down Trump DOE order keeping Michigan coal plant running — Image via news.bloomberglaw.com

Coverage

14d CleanTechnica US District Court Strips Away Insane JH Campbell Fake Emergency Order — The J.H. Campbell generating station first went into service in 1962. It is located in West Olive, Michigan in the western part of the state, just a few miles…

15d Inside Climate News Court Rules Against Trump Order to Keep Costly Michigan Coal Plant Running — A federal appeals court has struck down the Trump administration’s use of emergency powers to require a coal-fired power plant in Michigan to remain open,…

15d Grist A federal judge just told Trump there’s no ‘emergency’ to justify keeping a Michigan coal plant open

15d Electrek Court blocks Trump from forcing open a dead coal plant that no one wants open — A court has blocked the Department of Energy’s attempts to force a broken coal plant open in Michigan, stating that there is no “emergency” that should force…

15d Canary Media Court rules that Trump can’t force a Michigan coal plant to keep running — A federal court has ruled that the Department of Energy acted outside the bounds of its legal authority when it forced a coal plant in Michigan to keep running…

15d Utility Dive Court rejects DOE ‘emergency’ order delaying coal plant retirement as overstep — “The Department’s reading of 'emergency' invites frequent federal interventions that are unsupported by the statute and threaten the stability of the energy…

15d CleanTechnica VICTORY: Court Rules Against Trump’s Michigan Coal Bailout — WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the U.S. District Circuit Court for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of the Sierra Club, overturning the Department of…

15d via Bluesky Court Rejects Trump Order to Keep Michigan Coal Plant Open (1) — The Energy Department doesn’t have the authority to use emergency powers under federal law to block the closure of the J.H.

Primary sources

mailchi.mp CleanTechnica Weekly Newsletter — cited by 2 of the outlets above

sierraclub.org Campbell Order (sierraclub.org) — cited by 2 of the outlets above

cleantechnica.fundjournalism.org Contribute (cleantechnica.fundjournalism.org) — cited by 2 of the outlets above

Related coverage

15d CleanTechnica Government Clown Just Can’t Quit Coal Power

More coverage from around the web

abc4.com Federal court rejects Trump order keeping Michigan coal plant open – ABC4 Utah

cbs42.com Federal court rejects Trump order keeping Michigan coal plant open | Alabama's 42

therepublic.com Federal court rejects Trump order keeping Michigan coal plant open - The Republic News

wusa9.com Federal court rejects Trump order keeping Michigan coal plant open | wusa9.com

wtnh.com Federal court rejects Trump order keeping Michigan coal plant open | WTNH.com

Discussion

Bluesky: @ericwesoff.bsky.social Eric Wesoff · 15d ago · 12 ♥ BREAKING: The DC Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down a US Dept. of Energy "emergency" order requiring a Michigan coal plant to remain in operation, siding with ratepayer advocates and others. We'll have more info soon. news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-... 🔌💡 · @jeffstjohn.bsky.social Jeff St. John · 15d ago · 5 ♥ A federal court has ruled that DOE acted illegally to force a Michigan coal plant to stay open last year — a potentially major blow to the Trump administration's use of 'emergency' power to prop up aging, costly fossil fuel power plants: www.canarymedia.com/articles/fos... · @dangearino.bsky.social Dan Gearino · 15d ago · 2 ♥ Appeals court slaps down DOE for forcing Michigan coal plant to remain open. insideclimatenews.org/news/1109202...

Reddit: r/energy0↑ r/energy · 14d ago · 0 comments A federal judge just told Trump there’s no ‘emergency’ to justify keeping a Michigan coal plant open. It's one of the first successful legal challenges to Trump's “energy emergency” agenda. It’s hard to square the idea of an energy emergency with the Trump’s actions against renewable energy.

Appeared in: 2026-09-11 (#1) · 2026-09-12 (#1) · 2026-09-13 (#1) · 2026-09-14 (#2)

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