Dec. 7--Texans overwhelmingly oppose Gov. Rick Perry's fast- tracking of permits for new coal-burning electric plants and prefer renewable energy and conservation over construction of new power plants, according to a poll released Wednesday by a group fighting the new coal plants.

Dallas-based TXU, which wants to build 11 coal-burning units, challenged the neutrality of the poll's questions, saying they seemed intended to steer responses. A spokesman for Mr. Perry dismissed the poll as the product of "a left-leaning group."

The Texas office of the Environmental Integrity Project, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that advocates stronger environmental enforcement, commissioned the poll.

The poll found that 81 percent of those interviewed said they opposed Mr. Perry's effort to speed up coal plant permitting unless the state fully considers environmental and health concerns. The governor's October 2005 order cuts the time for state hearings on new coal plants' permits from about a year to six months.

"The good news today is that Texans are giving a big thumbs- down" to that accelerated permit process, said Ilan Levin, counsel to the Environmental Integrity Project. "To say that Governor Perry has no mandate from the public for his plan to rubber-stamp these dirty power plants may be the understatement of the year."

The poll found two-thirds opposed to the construction of new coal plants, with 47 percent strongly opposed. Three-fourths of those interviewed said they would favor new coal plants only after stronger state efforts for conservation and energy efficiency.

"I want to applaud the solid common sense of Texans when it comes to conservation," said Lloyd Jeff Dumas, professor of economics and public policy at the University of Texas at Dallas, who spoke during a news conference announcing the poll. "We can't just keep adding to global warming pollution in the same irresponsible manner as we have in the past."

The poll results are much different, though, from a Dallas Morning News poll on the issue in October. That survey found Texans split on the issue, with 42 percent opposed to new plants because they would pollute too much and 41 percent backing the plants because of the state's energy needs.

The News' poll of 1,245 registered voters had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

TXU spokeswoman Kim Morgan called the environmental group's poll part of a strategy to fight new coal plants rather than a neutral effort to measure public opinion.

"This is a thinly disguised 'push poll' to promote their agenda," Ms. Morgan said. "The questions are written in such a way as to guarantee the outcome they were looking for."

Robert Black, a spokesman for Mr. Perry, called the Environmental Integrity Project "a left-leaning group that hasn't put forward any concrete proposals for how to address Texas' future energy needs."

Pollsters with Opinion Research Corp., a Princeton, N.J.-based firm, interviewed 602 adult Texans by telephone from Nov. 15 to 19. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Some key questions asked include:

--On fast-track permitting: "Should the state of Texas issue permits for new coal-fired power plants on a 'fast track' basis or should all health and environmental issues be resolved first to ensure that the new plants use processes and pollution control technologies that reduce pollutants -- including mercury and carbon dioxide -- as much as possible?"

--On construction of new coal plants: "Do you support the addition of a dozen or more new coal-fired power plants in Texas that will result in additional mercury contamination and also carbon dioxide pollution, which scientists believe contribute to global warming?"

--On pursuing conservation and efficiency first: "Proponents of adding 12 or more new coal-fired power plants in Texas say that they are needed to meet consumer demand for electricity. But experts say that the growth in future energy demand in the state could be reduced sharply through conservation measures and increased energy- efficiency measures. Do you agree or disagree that Texas should focus on increased conservation steps and more fuel efficiency before it constructs 12 or more coal-fired power plants that would increase the pollution that scientists link to global warming?"

Graham Hueber, senior research associate with Opinion Research Corp., said experts reviewed the questions in advance. Mr. Levin of the Environmental Integrity Project said the questions accurately reflected concerns over the new plants.

The full poll report is available at www.environmentalintegrity .org.

E-mail rloftis@dallasnews.com