At 1117 S. Oak St. in Champaign, the Abbott Power Plant has evolved from a traditional coal power plant to one that burns coal as part of a multi‑fuel system.

It meets federal and state requirements intended to limit pollution by including natural gas and fuel oil, with coal use varying from year to year based on energy demand, fuel costs and operational requirements.

It stands in stark contrast to one of Illinois’ most controversial coal plants that has been called a top 10 polluter in the nation.

A few hours south of Champaign, the Prairie State Energy Campus coal plant has been operating without a Title V clean air permit since 2012. Located at 3872 Co. Hwy. 12 in Marissa, Ill., the plant has created deep concern in surrounding communities and states.

The facility’s decade‑long operation has also raised numerous questions about federal and state regulatory enforcement and how air pollution rules are applied across Illinois.

A representative for Prairie State Energy Campus did not return a request for comment.

It is one of the nine utility-scale, or electricity-producing, coal power plants operating in Illinois, according to the  U.S. Energy Information Administration. Environmental advocacy organization Prairie Rivers Network said the plant is the state’s top emitter of greenhouse gases, and one of the ten largest emitters in the U.S.

In an interview with CU-CitizenAccess.org, Amanda Pankau, director of energy and community resiliency at Prairie Rivers Network, said Prairie State Energy Campus applied for the permit from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency in 2010, but the state agency neither granted nor denied the permit.

Nonetheless, the plant began operating in June 2012.  A lawsuit filed by environmental group Sierra Club alleges that under state law, after two years of agency inaction, the coal plant was officially operating ​“illegally” without the required permit.

“The company was operating under a construction permit, which is intended to regulate emissions during construction. While it set limits on certain pollutants, it was not a full operating permit,” Pankau said. 

A construction permit for coal plants in Illinois is a mandatory, legally binding document issued by the Illinois EPA Bureau of Air prior to building, installing or modifying any emission source or pollution control equipment. It acts as pre-construction approval required under the Clean Air Act to regulate emissions of mercury, sulfur dioxide and other pollutants.

The required Title V permit sets limits on pollutants like mercury, lead and sulfur dioxide, and defines how the plant will report and monitor its emissions and any violations. 

The deadliest coal plant in the state

Prairie State Energy Campus is a coal-fired power plant that generates up to 1,600 megawatts co-located with a coal mine in southwest Illinois. The plant is the youngest and biggest coal plant in the state, and it emits more air pollutants than any other source in Illinois. 

The coal plant has been identified as one of the deadliest coal plants in the country. Soot pollution, a form of fine particle air pollution, from the plant is responsible for 76 premature deaths annually, according to a 2023 Sierra Club report. 

Sierra Club’s report also found a total of 199 Illinois residents die prematurely each year due to coal plant soot pollution created by all plants across the country. Coal plants in Illinois specifically contribute to 94 deaths across the nation, the report found.

After the plant violated federal mercury standards in 2021, the Sierra Club investigated whether subsequent violations had occurred. It was unable to access the necessary information because the plant had never obtained a Clean Air Act operating permit. The Sierra Club took legal action in 2023.

The Prairie State Energy Campus is jointly owned by a network of public power agencies and utilities across several Midwestern states, including major stakeholders such as the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency, American Municipal Power, Indiana Municipal Power Agency, and the Northern Illinois Municipal Power Agency. Plant ownership is monitored by nonprofit Global Energy Monitor, which tracks and maps energy infrastructures around the world.

A 2021 report by the Rocky Mountain Institute found that Prairie State’s dispersed public‑power ownership has complicated efforts to retire or decarbonize the plant. According to the report, long‑term contracts and shared financial obligations tie hundreds of communities across multiple states to the facility, limiting flexibility as Illinois moves forward with its clean‑energy transition.

After a federal judge in southern Illinois ruled the plant was operating without a required Clean Air Act permit in August 2024, the Illinois Pollution Control Board ordered Prairie State Generating Company, which operates the plant, and the Illinois EPA to take action.

Consistent with the board’s order, the Illinois EPA has issued a draft operating permit for the Prairie State coal plant. The agency opened a public comment period and held three public hearings — one in person and two virtual — in early February 2026 to gather public input on the proposed permit.

When reached for comment, an Illinois EPA representative said it will review all public comments and prepare a formal response document before issuing a final permit decision, but declined to comment further because the matter remains pending as of May 2026.

A worried community

Ivy Sundell, a resident of Winnipeg, Ill. who submitted a comment during the virtual hearing, said in an interview with CU-CitizenAccess that she feels anxious about the coal plant and its impacts:

“This is just not about air or carbon dioxide. This is also about water. The coal ash leaks all these heavy metals into the water, and they are much more toxic than I thought.”

Kay Ahaus, a resident of Trenton, Ill. who spoke at the in-person hearing, shared in an interview her frustration with the region’s energy system and its ties to the plant. 

In 2008, Ahaus and her husband attempted to install solar panels on their home, expecting a straightforward transition to cleaner energy. Instead, she said, they encountered a series of structural barriers imposed by local utility officials.

“They didn’t want us to install solar,” Ahaus said. “They wanted to charge us an arm and a leg, require thousands of dollars in insurance, and impose all kinds of additional conditions.”

Ahaus said the utility also restricted how much solar power she could generate. As she learned more, she discovered that her community’s electricity supply was tied to Prairie State through municipal ownership, leaving residents financially bound to a coal plant they did not support.

Unable to select an alternative provider and lacking a direct role in decision-making, Ahaus said she felt trapped in a system where consumers shoulder long-term costs without meaningful control. 

She also attended the permit hearing and submitted comments opposing the plant.

Illinois’ clean energy goal

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, coal-fired power plants are regulated under the federal Clean Air Act. The law requires major sources of pollution to hold renewable operating permits under Title V, a program established by the 1990 amendments and administered by states, including Illinois, with permits renewed every five years.

In Illinois, coal plants are regulated under Title II of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act, which authorizes the Illinois EPA to issue and enforce air pollution permits in accordance with the federal Clean Air Act.

In 2021, Illinois enacted the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, which established a roadmap for transitioning to clean energy. The act mandates the closure of all coal-fired power plants and requires Illinois to achieve 100% carbon-free electricity by 2045.

The law contributed to the planned retirement of three of Illinois’ nine operating coal plants by 2027: the Newton Power Plant in Jasper County, the Kincaid Power Plant in Christian County and the Baldwin Power Plant in Randolph County.

Even before the law’s passage, market pressures and regulatory shifts had begun reshaping the state’s energy landscape. Between 2010 and 2021, 18 Illinois coal plants announced plans to cease operations.

Abbott Power Plant’s evolution includes new equipment

Meanwhile, the Abbott Power Plant has been working to meet clean energy goals. It now burns coal, natural gas and fuel oil, according to the University of Illinois Energy Management Plan. 

While it employs pollution control technologies such as electrostatic precipitators and flue-gas desulfurization systems, it continues to emit regulated pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter and carbon dioxide.

Originally constructed as a coal-fired plant, Abbott evolved over decades to include natural gas boilers, combustion turbines and heat recovery systems. Those changes were driven by tightening Clean Air Act regulations, the operational flexibility and lower emissions of natural gas and the university’s long-term goals to improve efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Coal remains contentious

At the federal level, coal policy has remained contentious. 

The Trump administration announced a $625 million U.S. Department of Energy investment aimed at extending the life of coal-fired power plants and supporting coal-related infrastructure, citing concerns about grid reliability and domestic energy production, according to the department.

In a separate order, the administration invoked emergency authority under federal law to delay planned coal plant closures, preventing at least five coal-fired power plants nationwide from retiring on schedule, according to PBS NewsHour and Utility Dive.

In Illinois, those federal actions have conflicted with state law. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has filed lawsuits challenging federal emergency orders used to keep coal plants running, arguing the actions are unlawful and could increase electricity costs for residents. 

At the same time, some labor groups, including utility union IBEW Local 15, have expressed hope that federal intervention could preserve union jobs at Illinois coal facilities, according to an NPR report.