Ten Groups Push Back Against Trump’s Illegal Campbell Plant Extension

West Olive, MI —

Today, 10 public interest groups challenged the Department of Energy’s (DOE) illegal extension of the J.H. Campbell power plant past its planned expiration.

On May 23, the Department of Energy issued an order forcing the power plant to remain operational past its planned May 31 expiration date. The order falsely invokes emergency powers to upend the usual legal and regulatory decision-making process. The retirement, announced in 2021, had gone through a lengthy review process and was approved after state and regional entities confirmed that retirement would have no effect on grid reliability in the region.

The unprecedented order usurps the judgment of Michigan regulators, the utility, the state Attorney General, and numerous other parties who negotiated and approved the settlement to retire the aging coal-fired power plant. The owner of the power plant, Consumers Energy, has already secured more than adequate replacement power, including another power plant, extending the lives of two other generating units, and building or acquiring significant amounts of wind, solar, and storage resources, which utility customers are already paying for.

According to the Chair of the Michigan Public Service Commission, keeping the plant online for even 90 days could cost close to $100 million because Consumers had been winding down investments in the plant over the past four years. DOE’s order does not include any federal funding to keep the Campbell plant operational, and the additional costs associated with this extension may be passed onto consumers in Michigan and the Midwest.

When operating, the Campbell plant was one of the largest sources of toxic pollution in Michigan, releasing many millions of pounds of health-harming pollution and over ten billion pounds of climate-harming carbon dioxide into the air each year in recent years. The plant also released roughly 100,000 pounds of water pollution into Lake Michigan every year, including 10,000 pounds of toxic metals. The Clean Air Task Force’s ‘Toll from Coal’ analysis estimates the plant is responsible for 44 premature deaths and 455 asthma attacks every year.

Earthjustice filed the request for rehearing with the DOE today. The groups signing the motion include the Sierra Club, Environmental Law and Policy Center, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Michigan Environmental Council, Environmental Defense Fund, Vote Solar, Public Citizen, Union of Concerned Scientists, the Ecology Center, and Urban Core Collective. The DOE must respond to today’s motion within 30 days. If the DOE does not respond, the public interest groups will challenge this order in court.

Statement of Shannon Fisk, Attorney and Director of State Electric Sector Advocacy, Earthjustice: The U.S. Department of Energy’s unprecedented last-minute interference with the orderly plan to retire and replace the aging Campbell coal plant will harm the wallets and lungs of Michiganders. No amount of baseless fearmongering by the federal administration changes the fact that the entities charged with ensuring that the lights stay on in the Wolverine State agree that there is no energy emergency. We urge the DOE to rescind this unlawful, unreasonable, and unnecessary order. If they don’t, we will see them in court.

Statement of Greg Wannier, Senior Attorney at the Sierra Club: There is no energy emergency in our country — and certainly no shortage of power plants in Michigan or in MISO — and it is illegal to invoke a made-up emergency to overturn a long-planned plant retirement. This action will only make bills more expensive for Michiganders and sets a dangerous precedent for government interference in the energy industry. This administration needs to start respecting the industry it claims to be protecting, and stop running roughshod over states and our communities.

Statement of Howard Learner, Executive Director & CEO, Environmental Law & Policy Center: Families and businesses in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and other Midwest states should not be forced to pay higher electricity bills for a coal plant that is not needed to operate and is not otherwise economic. Michigan Public Service Chair Dan Scripps has it right — this order is unnecessary and will result in cost increases for consumers.

Statement of Charlotte Jameson, Chief Policy Officer for Michigan Environmental Council: There is no energy emergency in Michigan. The decision to close JH Campbell coal plant was a key component of a comprehensive plan to ensure Consumers Energy’s customers have the most reliable and affordable energy mix for many years to come. President Trump is abusing his emergency powers to prop up a dying coal industry at the expense of Michiganders. Make no mistake, this unnecessary order will result in higher costs for Michiganders and more air and water pollution, all while further delaying the opportunity to turn a prime coastal property from a toxic coal plant to something that will benefit the community.

Statement of Will Kenworthy, Senior Regulatory Director, Midwest for Vote Solar: This fabricated “emergency” is a politically motivated move that puts fossil fuel interests ahead of Michigan families and communities. The planned retirement of Campbell was part of a well-vetted settlement to deliver safe, reliable, and affordable energy for Michigan. It’s time to move forward — not backward — by accelerating local solar and clean energy solutions that lower costs, reduce pollution, and put power back in the hands of Michiganders.

Statement of Tyson Slocum, Energy Program Director for Public Citizen: Today we expose Trump’s sham energy emergency as a massive price hike for Americans’ utility bills. Trump’s sloppy and haphazard abuse of emergency powers will force working families to pay to operate one of Michigan’s most expensive and polluting facilities. Trump’s campaign pledge to cut Americans’ energy bills in half was a lie, as he prioritizes stupid political gimmicks like this coal bailout instead of focusing on real solutions that will actually lower America’s energy bills.

Statement of Derrell Slaughter, Michigan Policy Director, Climate & Energy, NRDC: Forcing Michigan families to cover the cost of a coal plant that was already on its way out is unjust and harmful. The plant’s retirement is about making our electric system more affordable and efficient while cutting down pollution. Cleaner, cheaper sources of energy have already rendered Campbell superfluous; Michiganders should not now be required to pay extra for a dirty plant we no longer need. This is illegal overreach. It is an economic burden for the most vulnerable that are struggling with high energy bills. We should be investing in the future, not propping up the past.

Statement of Danielle Fidler, senior attorney at Clean Air Task Force: The Campbell plant is old, unreliable, and uneconomic. In addition to the hundreds of millions of dollars in ratepayer savings, its closure will result in emissions reductions estimated to save up to 81 lives and up to $879 million in health costs every year. The administration’s abuse of its emergency power to force one of the state’s oldest and most-polluting power plants back online undermines competitive energy markets and state resource plans already providing Michiganders with cleaner, cheaper, and more reliable energy — all while needlessly harming communities across the region. We don’t have to sacrifice air quality for affordability and reliability, and we will fight this action in court if necessary.

Statement of Ted Kelly, Director and Lead Counsel, U.S. Clean Energy at Environmental Defense Fund: Keeping this coal plant on life support means higher bills and more toxic air pollution for families and businesses across Michigan and the Midwest. The utility, Michigan leaders and regional planners spent years creating a plan that would reliably shift power to cleaner, cheaper energy sources. Now the Trump administration is throwing it out the window by illegally declaring an ‘energy emergency’ where none exists.