TOPEKA | Whatever course the U.S. takes on global warming in the next few years, national groups expect a dispute in Kansas over two proposed coal-fired power plants to play a crucial role.

Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' administration has blocked the plants' construction since October over their potential carbon dioxide emissions. The Republican-controlled Legislature is trying to clear the way for them and strip her top environmental regulator of some of his power.

Nationally, the party has portrayed Sebelius as a rising star, but in Kansas even some fellow Democrats have split with her on energy policy. Legislators have passed two bills to make sure the plants are built, and she's vetoed both. Supporters are within one vote in the state House of being able to override her.

The coal plants have been a target for national environmental groups for months, but large energy companies have also jumped into the debate. Legislators, on a spring break, plan to reconvene April 30, and the issue will top their agenda.

Environmentalists fear a veto override will hinder national efforts to reduce greenhouse gases linked by many scientists to climate change. Bruce Nilles, director of the Sierra Club's national anti-coal campaign, said building the plants will guarantee lucrative markets for coal for a half-century.

The American Coal Council worries that if the decision to block the plants stands, it will become a precedent for other states' regulators. Spokesman Jason Hayes said it would also inspire more aggressive attempts to regulate CO2.

"The ramifications are so huge that they're mind-boggling," Hayes said.

The two plants would be built by Sunflower Electric Power Corp., outside Holcomb, about 200 miles west of Wichita, the state's largest city. Sunflower and a sister company serve about 400,000 customers in western Kansas.

Sunflower is relying on two partners, fellow cooperatives in Colorado and Texas, to help finance the $3.6 billion project, and its partners initially would receive most of the new power. The new plants could generate enough power to meet the peak demands of 700,000 households.

Sunflower expects the plants to be the cleanest in Kansas. But they still could produce up to 11 million tons of CO2 a year.

Sunflower applied in February 2006 for an air-quality permit from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. Even some environmentalists predicted early on that Secretary Rod Bremby would grant it because of the project's perceived economic development benefits.

Instead, Bremby rejected the permit and described his action as a first step toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Sunflower filed a legal challenge now before the Kansas Supreme Court, then turned to legislators for a quicker resolution.

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