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DTE Energy will proceed with its plans to retire coal plants, despite indications that the Trump administration could loosen regulations on the fuel. Pictured is the newly retired Consumers Energy B.C. Cobb Plant on Friday, April 15, 2016 in Muskegon. (Joel Bissell | MLive.com)

(Joel Bissell)

LANSING, MI -- President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to end the "war on coal," but DTE Energy CEO Gerry Anderson said the company plans to phase out the fuel, regardless.

Anderson said the company had already shuttered three coal-fired units, and has plans to shelve another eight by 2030.

"All of those retirements are going to happen regardless of what Trump may or may not do with the Clean Power Plan," said Anderson in an interview.

Aside from the Clean Power Plan, which targets carbon emissions, Anderson said existing environmental regulations were making coal plants less economically appealing. And DTE Energy's coal units are aging, which makes maintenance more costly.

Asked if the company would phase out coal completely, he said, "I think it's on that path, yes. The facilities are old and aging."

A newer coal plant in Monroe is expected to last into the 2030s, Anderson said, but it will likely be the last coal plant running as the company moves toward natural gas and renewable energy, and away from coal entirely.

"I don't know anybody in the country who would build another coal plant," Anderson said.

In surveys DTE has sent customers, Anderson said more than 80 percent would like to see renewables added if it could be done at a reasonable cost.

"On pure economics you would build natural gas today," Anderson said, but added that beyond economics there were environmental signals that natural gas and renewables were the way to go.

Natural gas prices in the United States are low right now, Anderson said. According to a February report from the Michigan Public Service Commission, the construction of a new coal plant cost $133 per megawatt hour, while new wind contracts from DTE and Consumers averaged $74.52 per megawatt hour.

Trump has promised to end what he calls the "war on coal," including at a Detroit event where he claimed it had cost Michigan 50,000 jobs. Part of his energy platform is also boosting natural gas production from shale and encouraging the use of natural gas.

In Michigan, lawmakers have been considering an overhaul of the state's energy policy for years. The Senate passed a pair of bills on it shortly after the election. But some lawmakers are urging a slow-down to see how Michigan's energy policy should fit into the national picture.

"The most troubling words one can hear, particularly when we're entering into lame duck, are the words 'well let's just get something done.' That is not a good reason to pass legislation," said Sen. Mike Shirkey, R-Jackson.

But utilities -- mainly DTE and Consumers -- have consistently made the case that Michigan needed new energy policy to address reliability concerns due to planned coal plant retirements and instability created by competitive electric suppliers.

Both companies plan to go through with planned coal plant retirements, and are urging the legislature to pass an energy overhaul before year's end.

"If anything, the election results demonstrate that our state critically needs a Michigan-first energy plan in order to have control over our energy future and ensure flexibility as energy needs change. The current legislation in play does these things," said Consumers Energy spokesman Dan Bishop.

The legislation is currently pending in the House of Representatives. It would have to pass the chamber, have the Senate agree to any changes and make it to the governor's desk before the end of the year to become law.