The Texas Clean Sky Coalition, a collection of natural gas outfits, recently spoke up on their feelings in the pages of several of the state’s newspapers. According to area newspaper the Austin American Statesman, the campaign organised by California company Strategic Perception has a tab of more than $US1 million.

Earlier this month, Chesapeake Energy told the paper that it had some involvement with funding of the coalition, the monies for which are otherwise being kept confidential. Said watchdog group Public Citizen’s Tom Smith: “Whether the money is coming from environmentalists, businessmen or competitors, we’re glad they’re fighting – without help from everyone in the state, we won’t be able to stop the coal plants.”

TXU, which is proposing 11 of the new plants, said it has developed a campaign to highlight the positives of coal power. “We’re ready to be on the offensive and keep moving ahead with the path we laid out,” company spokeswoman Lisa Singleton told the paper.

Late last week, TXU requested that one of its most significant opponents, Environmental Defense, remove its anti-coal plant television advertisement. The group, according to Dallas news station WFAA, refused to do so.

Also last week, Texans for Affordable and Reliable Power (TARP) joined the fight as opposition to Clean Sky Coalition and its print efforts, the news station confirmed. It is being led by Roy Hill, whose family sold TXU land for one of its plants, and he acknowledged to the station that TXU would likely assist in funding for its efforts.

“Obviously, TARP wants to do as much as they can, and they want to use all media they can,” he said. “They want to try to respond to these attacks.”