Jan 3 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Karen Dillon and David Klepper The Kansas City Star, Mo.

Kansas voters by a 2-to-1 margin agree with the decision by the state to block construction of two coal plants in western Kansas, according to a poll released Thursday.

The poll by Cooper and Secrest Associates, a Democratic political consulting firm, found that the margin of support was less in western Kansas alone, but still a majority -- 51 percent, while 40 percent disagreed and 9 percent weren't sure.

The findings of the poll give the first snapshot of where Kansans stand on the divisive coal plant issue. The poll also showed 75 percent of the likely voters support expanded use of wind energy.

The poll was done mainly for research by the Climate and Energy Project with The Land Institute near Salina.

"We did not intend to initially make the poll public," said Nancy Jackson, head of the Lawrence-based Climate and Energy Project, a non-profit, non-partisan project sponsored by The Land Institute near Salina. "We found (the responses) striking and surprising. We thought it was worthy of sharing publicly."

State legislators were quick to try to knock down the poll.

Senate President Steve Morris, a Hugoton Republican whose district includes Holcomb, where the plants were to be built, discounted the poll's major finding. He said energy policy, climate change and the various economic and environmental aspects of the coal plant decision don't make for easy yes-no poll questions.

"I just can't imagine that would be an accurate poll," he said. "Virtually everyone I've talked to has been concerned about the decision."

But Alan Secrest, who owns the Washington-based polling company, said the questions that were posed were fair and balanced.

"We went out of our way to articulate both sides often using language made by both supporters and opponents," Secrest said.

To read more about the findings, see the Friday edition of The Star.