Donald Trump’s $100 Million Power Plant Boondoggle is Extended for 3rd Time – CleanTechnica

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Eddystone, Pennsylvania — Last night, the Trump administration extended its fake ‘emergency’ order to keep the Eddystone power plant online past its scheduled retirement for the third time. The administration also extended a similar order for the J.H. Campbell coal plant in Michigan last week.

According to Sierra Club’s ‘Ticked Off’ cost ticker, the two extensions have cost customers approximately $156,725,061 to date. Consumers Energy, who owns the J.H. Campbell plant, confirmed in its financial filing that the extension has cost customers an average of $615,000 per day since the first order was issued on May 23, 2025, and totaling over $115 million.

Last week, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation issued its 2025–2026 report indicating that the electricity grid which J.H. Campbell belongs to already procured 6.1 percent more energy capacity than required to ensure reliable energy, and had access to 3.3 GW that the grid itself reported it did not need. This further shows that the ‘energy emergency’ is not present, and the unlawful extension is unnecessary.

The Sierra Club has challenged the Eddystone plant’s emergency order at the Department of Energy, and has taken DOE to court over its similar order at the J.H. Campbell plant.

In response, Sierra Club Climate Policy Director Patrick Drupp issued the following statement: 

“It is a complete disgrace that in the midst of an affordability crisis, Donald Trump is still bolstering expensive coal as Americans pay the price. These coal plants were on track to be retired because they were old, too expensive to run, and unnecessary to keep online.

“As families prepare for the holiday season, millions of customers in the Midwest and the Midatlantic will now see even less of their paycheck as utility bills continue to skyrocket—just so that coal companies can pocket the profits of Trump’s illegal and fake ‘emergency’ order. We will continue to challenge these unlawful orders and protect families from paying to keep expensive and coal plants online.”

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person’s right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.