Trump DOE orders seven coal plants to stay open, costing $552 million

September 14, 2026 at 12:30 PM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

The U.S. Department of Energy has used federal emergency powers to force seven fossil-fuel plants, six of them coal-fired, to remain online past planned retirement dates. The orders carry a total cost of roughly $552 million as of Sept. 14, according to the Sierra Club. A federal court ruled on Sept. 11 that the DOE exceeded its authority in the first such order, for Michigan's J.H. Campbell plant, though the plant continues operating.

Key Facts

The Trump administration has forced seven fossil-fuel plants, all but one coal-fired, to stay open using federal emergency powers.
The total cost of the stay-open orders is roughly $552 million as of Sept. 14, according to the Sierra Club.
A federal court ruled on Sept. 11 that the DOE acted outside its legal authority in the May 2025 order for the J.H. Campbell plant in Michigan.
More than 20 coal-burning units are scheduled to close between now and the end of Trump's term, with the next retirements set for December at Colorado's Comanche plant and Minnesota's Sherburne County station.

The Stay-Open Orders

The Department of Energy first invoked emergency powers in May 2025 to force the J.H. Campbell coal plant in Michigan to keep operating, a week before its scheduled closure. Since then, the administration has issued similar orders for six additional plants, all but one of them coal-fired. State regulators, utilities, and grid operators had already determined these facilities were unnecessary and had planned for their retirement. Some of the plants are broken or idle because the grid does not need their power.

Legal Challenge

Democratic attorneys general from Michigan, Minnesota, and Illinois, along with environmental groups, filed legal challenges to block the J.H. Campbell order. On Sept. 11, a federal court ruled that the DOE acted outside its legal authority in forcing the plant to stay open. The ruling applies only to the May 2025 order for J.H. Campbell, not to subsequent orders. The DOE could seek a rehearing or appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, and the plant remains in operation.