Michael Lenoff

Senior Attorney

Clean Energy Program

Bar Admissions

DC, NY, U.S. Courts of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and Ninth Circuit

Pronouns

he / him

Michael Lenoff

Senior Attorney Clean Energy Program

Kathryn McGrath
Public Affairs and Communications Strategist
kmcgrath@earthjustice.org

Michael Lenoff is a senior attorney with Earthjustice’s Clean Energy program. Michael’s practice focuses on advancing reforms to planning processes and pricing mechanisms in organized electricity markets, opposing utilities’ efforts to obtain and exert market power, and challenging the unlawful exercise of federal executive authority.

Before joining Earthjustice, Michael was a litigator and investigator in the Office of Enforcement of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as well as a clerk to the Honorable Francisco A. Besosa of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico and to the Honorable Brent R. Appel of the Supreme Court of Iowa.

Expert Posts & Articles

June 6, 2025

The Trump Administration Forces Power Plants to Continue Burning Fossil Fuels

Department of Energy’s abuse of power charges consumers for an emergency that doesn’t exist.

Kathryn McGrath
Public Affairs and Communications Strategist
kmcgrath@earthjustice.org

On Social Media

LinkedIn

Bar Admissions

DC, NY, U.S. Courts of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and Ninth Circuit

Pronouns

he / him

Quoted in the News

September 11, 2026

The New York Times

Court Strikes Down Trump Order to Keep an Aging Coal-Burning Plant Running

“The court rejected the Department of Energy’s use of emergency authority, and agreed with our interpretation that emergency authority is to be used for actual emergencies, not picking preferred resources or addressing issues that Congress and the law have entrusted states to deal with.”
November 11, 2025

Canary Media

Is New York backpedaling on its pledge to electrify new buildings?

“Procuring resources when industry-standard reliability metrics indicate the system is already overprotected risks gold-plating the system at consumers’ expense.”

Latest Press Statements

Photo of the J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant in West Olive, Michigan.
September 11, 2026

Trump Administration Loses First Court Case Challenging DOE Orders for Coal Plants

Court rules against the DOE order for the J.H. Campbell coal power plant in Michigan
Photo of the J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant in West Olive, Michigan.
May 15, 2026

Sierra Club and Earthjustice Argue Against Illegal Coal Plant Extensions in Court

The court hears the first challenge to DOE's unlawful orders for the J.H. Campbell power plant in Michigan
Photo of the J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant in West Olive, Michigan.
December 22, 2025

DOE’s Illegal Extension of Coal Plant Challenged in Court for the First Time

Public advocacy groups ask the court to end the Trump administration’s sham emergency orders
Photo of the J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant in West Olive, Michigan.
November 19, 2025

Trump Administration Issues a Third Sham Emergency Order to Force the J.H. Campbell Power Plant to Keep Burning Coal

The costs of running the unnecessary coal power plant surpassed $80 million in September
October 30, 2025

Cost of the Trump Administration’s Sham Emergency Orders to Force a Michigan Coal Power Plant to Operate Exceed $80 million

Earthjustice and public advocacy groups are challenging the DOE’s unlawful emergency orders in court
September 8, 2025

Challenge to the Latest Illegal Extension of J.H. Campbell Coal Plant

The Trump administration forces the aging, dirty coal power plant to continue burning coal even as the electricity is not needed