Trump Administration Illegally Forces Washington’s Last Coal Plant to Keep Burning Coal Under False Energy Emergency

Yesterday the Department of Energy (DOE) issued a 90-day emergency order forcing the TransAlta coal plant in Centralia to continue burning coal, falsely invoking emergency powers to evade the usual legal and regulatory decision-making process. 

The closure of the plant’s last coal-burning unit has been planned for nearly 15 years and was scheduled by law and agreement between TransAlta and the State of Washington to shut down on December 31, 2025. Puget Sound Energy had a contract to purchase most of the coal-produced power from the plant under that law, but only through the end of this year. Washington state’s Clean Energy Transformation Act also requires utilities to stop using coal-fired electricity this year as the state moves to be greenhouse gas neutral by 2030 and to rely on emission-free electricity by 2045. 

The costs to pay for the continued operation of the unnecessary coal unit will likely be paid by billpayers. Contracts to supply coal to the plant end this month, meaning TransAlta will need to scramble to buy coal at a premium. 

The single remaining TransAlta coal unit, operating since 1971, is the state’s single largest single-source emitter of greenhouse gases and other air pollution that impairs human health.

Following are statements from Earthjustice and our partners: 

“Let us be clear: there is no ‘energy emergency’ in the Pacific Northwest that would justify forcing the continued operation of an old and dirty coal plant that endangers public health, worsens climate pollution, and has long been slated for retirement,” said Sierra Club Washington State Director Ben Avery. “All the evidence shows that when Centralia shuts down, customers’ costs will decrease and air quality will improve. Instead of lowering bills or protecting families from harmful pollution, the Trump administration is abusing emergency powers to prop up fossil fuels at any cost.”

“This federal overreach is incredibly unproductive,” said NW Energy Coalition Utility and Regulatory Director Lauren McCloy.  “People across the industry in the Northwest are working hard to plan for, acquire, and build the resources we need to have a clean, affordable, reliable electricity grid. The closure of this plant has been planned for over a decade, and keeping it running beyond its useful and economic life is not the answer. This order takes resources and focus away from addressing the real challenges we have.” 

“This executive order runs counter to what Washingtonians want and need, especially as people are experiencing catastrophic flooding made worse by the impacts of climate change,” said James Hove, Washington Director of Climate Solutions. “This move hurts Washington residents in multiple ways, including dirtier air and higher electric bills. We won’t be bullied into propping up and paying for expensive and unnecessary coal plants. We can ensure energy reliability much more efficiently, cleanly, and affordably.”

“The Trump administration is trying to force a 50 year-old coal plant to keep polluting our air and water,” said Christina Wong, Washington Conservation Action’s Interim CEO. “Burning coal is also a very expensive way to produce energy. Propping up a dying industry and rolling back climate progress hurts people and their wallets. Ultimately, it will fail. Here in Washington and across the country, we will not let the Trump administration pull us backward. We will protect people and nature from this reckless overreach.”

“The shutdown of Washington’s last coal plant has been in the works for nearly 15 years,” said Earthjustice Attorney Patti Goldman. “Washingtonians don’t want or need coal in their stockings this year. The shutdown of our last coal plant is two weeks away, and now the Trump administration has manufactured a fake emergency ordering TransAlta to keep burning coal against everyone’s wishes.”

Background

Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act, which is intended to temporarily alleviate certain imminent emergencies on the grid, allows the DOE to order power plants to operate for short periods of time, up to 90 days. The DOE has already acted unlawfully to prevent the retirement of another coal  plant, the J.H. Campbell coal plant in Michigan, issuing three 90-day emergency orders so far to force the plant to keep burning coal. In an earnings report, the majority owner of the Michigan plant estimated that it cost more than $80 million to comply with prior DOE orders from May 23 through September 30, an average of more than $615,000 per day.