A Trump administration push to keep aging Midwest coal plants alive could cost Americans billions of dollars in the coming years, including $117 million in the state of Wisconsin alone, according to the state’s governor.
“Not only are you making energy bills go up for Wisconsinites with no demonstrated need or benefit, but this practice flies in the face of state, local, and utility planning efforts,” Gov. Tony Evers wrote on Monday in a letter to Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
“Rather than needlessly increasing energy bills for American families, U.S. DOE should follow Wisconsin’s lead by refocusing its efforts on accelerating our nation’s transition to a clean energy economy and lowering costs for working families,” he added.
The Independent has contacted the DOE for comment.
The Trump administration has used emergency authorities to prolong the life of the Campbell Power Plant in Michigan and the R.M Schahfer and F.B. Culley plants in Indiana, which are connected to the Wisconsin energy system via a regional grid.
“This means Wisconsinites will continue to foot the bill to keep these regional plants online despite their age, inefficacy, and, in some cases, their own operating utilities’ plea to allow these expired assets to be shut down,” Evers wrote of the extensions, which the energy department claims are needed to bolster reliability.
The Campbell plant, whose closing has been delayed five times, has now operated more than a year past its originally planned shutdown.
Donald Trump, a climate denier who received support from the coal industry in the 2024 election, has championed coal as part of his larger push to support fossil fuel development and roll back clean energy initiatives.
Environmentalists argue the administration has illegally used emergency powers to extend the life of coal plants across Washington, Colorado, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Florida, decisions the Sierra Club estimates have cost Americans more than $405 million so far.
Critics and some of the impacted states have sued to block the plant extensions.
“Abusing emergency powers in this way sets a terrible precedent for grid planning,” Ted Kelly, director and lead counsel for U.S. clean energy at Environmental Defense Fund, said of one such effort in May.
In addition to propping up aging coal facilities, the administration has worked to support new ones, announcing $700 million in federal funding in June, part of which will flow to the first new U.S. coal plants in more than a decade. The Trump White House has also opened more than 13 million acres of federal land for leasing by coal companies.
The Trump administration Environmental Protection Agency, meanwhile, has moved to roll back federal oversight of coal ash and wastewater, and it is working to repeal the 2024 updates to the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards regulation and carbon pollution standards.
“Many of the items that were on your wish list are now done,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin told members of the National Coal Council on Tuesday. “Over the course of the coming few months, hopefully [we get to] the remainder of those items, although I will not prejudge the outcome of any rule-making.”
