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WASHINGTON (AP) - Governors pushing alternative energy development are not shying from coal, a major culprit in global warming but also a homegrown energy source and an economic lifeline for many states.

Leaders of coal-rich states say clean-coal technology is a must. Governors from states without coal want more evidence the technology works.

“There’s no doubt there’s a tension and there’s no doubt there is very rapidly growing public opposition to coal,” said Gov. Jim Doyle, D-Wis. His state relies heavily on coal for power although Wisconsin is not a coal producer.

Energy tops the agenda at the governors’ annual winter meeting. The group’s new clean energy initiative seeks to promote renewable fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Proponents say all energy sources have their problems. The key, says Gov. Brian Schweitzer, D-Mont., is a national energy policy with many options and sources.

That is important because electricity demand will increase in the future. For instance, Schweitzer predicted that 10 years from now a significant number of cars will be plug-in hybrid vehicles, which will require more power plants, not fewer.

Coal “has a CO2 problem, wind has a reliability problem, solar has a price problem, nukes have a price and radiation problem,” Schweitzer said. “So all of those technologies have opportunities. but they all have problems - coal’s no different.”

He added, “What I can say about coal, is we have it. We have it in a greater supply than anyplace else on the planet.”

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