(AP)Six of the nation’s 10 largest sources of carbon dioxide emissions are coal-fired power plants in the heart of the South, clustered from Georgia to Texas.

Yet year after year, when Congress tries to push utilities toward cleaner renewable energy, Southern lawmakers balk.

Last month, Republican senators from the South accounted for about half of the opposition to failed legislation that would have required power companies to get 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020. Nationally, almost half the states have adopted their own renewable mandates, but only one, Texas, is in the South.

Southern lawmakers responding to heavy lobbying from local utilities argue that the region isn’t conducive to solar or wind power like the sun-baked Southwest or the open plains of the West.

But many of the nation’s leading scientists and environmental advocates say Southern states have plenty of alternative-energy potential. Utilities have simply grown too comfortable with cheap, dirty coal and haven’t been forced to change, they say.

“If you look at other regions of the country where renewables have taken off, it’s been because of mandates, and that’s why you haven’t seen it take off in the South,” said Nicholas Rigas, director of the South Carolina Institute for Energy Studies at Clemson University. “I think once the development starts it will be just as successful as it is in other states. There’s no reason why it shouldn’t.”

The South has long relied on coal for its electricity. Its two largest utilities Atlanta-based Southern Co., and Charlotte, N.C.,-based Duke Energy Corp. produce about two-thirds of their power from coal, mostly burned in aging plants have not yet been upgraded with new clean-air technologies.

Southern Co. puts more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than any other U.S. utility.

Its Scherer plant near Macon, Ga., has for several years been the nation’s single largest source of the greenhouse gas, which most scientists believe contributes to global warming. Duke Energy isn’t far behind, ranking third in carbon dioxide emissions, while the Tennessee Valley Authority ranks fourth, according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Many of the companies’ plants also rank among the worst in emissions of mercury, a neurotoxin, and other pollutants that cause smog, respiratory problems and acid rain.

The utilities among the largest political donors in Washington have vehemently opposed mandates from Congress. They argue that “one size fits all” standards would drive up Southern utility bills, and urge that the technologies be gradually phased in when the market is ready.

Southern Co., which reported $1.6 billion in 2006 profits, has been particularly aggressive, casting doubt on the existence of global warming even as other utilities acknowledge that it must be addressed.

“If we are irrational about it and we cripple our economy or cripple our industry and we realize carbon dioxide wasn’t the source of the problem, then we’ll be real regretful,” said Chris Hobson, senior vice president for research and environmental affairs at Southern Co., whose subsidiaries include Georgia Power Co. and Alabama Power Co.

But as calls for renewable energy grow, the companies may not be able to fend off new standards for long.

“Coal is the dominant source of global warming pollution,” said Michael Shore, who directs Southeastern air quality programs at Environmental Defense. “It is critical that states in the Southeast embrace energy efficiency and renewables if we are to take responsibility for global warming.”

The Energy Department reported recently that the Senate proposal that stalled last month would cause utility bills nationally to rise by less than 1 percent more through 2030. That study and others have projected that price increases from renewables would be partially offset by reduced demand for coal and natural gas.

Renewable advocates acknowledge that the South could see slightly higher increases, in part because the region’s electricity rates already are among the lowest in the country. But they say the South should be ready to meet modest new mandates.

Renewable technologies are becoming increasingly cost-competitive with traditional sources, including nuclear power, which Southern Co. and other utilities could adopt to meet growing demand.

Many Southern states already produce a small share of their power from hydroelectric dams. Although there is little dispute that the region has relatively low wind speeds, a recent study conducted by Georgia Tech and Southern Co. found there’s great promise for offshore wind production in coastal states.

The most potential, however, could be the South’s emergence as a national leader in producing energy from timber residue, grasses and agricultural waste. Biomass now accounts for about 1.5 percent of the nation’s power more than solar or wind.

Steven Taylor, chairman of the bioenergy program at Auburn University in Alabama, said Southern states have a track record for producing biomass from the region’s vast forests and farmlands.

Although utilities still struggle to efficiently collect and transport the materials, much of the infrastructure is already in place because of the region’s strong agriculture and timber industries. And most legislative proposals would allow utilities to “co-fire” biomass at modified conventional plants, eliminating the need for expensive new facilities.

“We’re not that far off,” Taylor said. “We’ve got the ability to generate a pretty good proportion of our power or liquid fuel from biomass, and that will continue in the future.”

FOUR months after Coles directors officially put the retailer up for sale, the board will finally meet via telephone hook-up this morning to consider offers for the company.

Investors propelled shares in Wesfarmers to a record high on expectation the Perth company would win the auction.

Only one bid for the entire group from Wesfarmers was expected by the board’s 9am deadline this morning.

The directors were also expected to consider an offer from rival Woolworths, which was set to lodge two mutually exclusive bids for Officeworks and Target, and Officeworks and Kmart.

It is believed Woolworths’ offer for these general merchandise assets was to be at least $1 billion above any other bidder.

However, Wesfarmers remains in the box seat to win the auction, as Coles investors continued to drive the stock lower than the $16.47 Wesfarmers has already paid to acquire a 12.8 per cent stake in the supermarkets giant.

The stock slipped 3 yesterday to close at $16.11 as a massive 26.4 million shares changed hands, compared with the average daily volume of 5.8 million.

In contrast, shares in Wesfarmers, which emerged as a potential suitor for Coles in April after a dramatic raid on the retailers’ share register, soared more than 2 per cent, or 93, to a record high of $45.73.

A bid from the Wesfarmers’ consortium, which includes Macquarie Bank, Permira and Pacific Equity Partners, will include at least 40 per cent scrip. Wesfarmers is also considering allowing Coles shareholders to exchange up to 750 of their shares for stock in Wesfarmers.

The attraction in that strategy is that the 200,000 people who own 750 or fewer Coles shares would be able to defer capital gains tax payments for their Coles holding.

CommSec retail analyst Grant Saligari said that despite the decrease in the Coles share price, Wesfarmers would need to put in a bid of more than $16.47 to be recommended by Coles’ board.

“A bid closer to $17 would probably get them over the line,” Mr Saligari said.

But he warned that a bid of $6 billion from Woolworths for a combination of Coles’ general merchandise assets could make the board keen to pursue its second option of selling the company in parts.

But Wesfarmers has an insurance policy with its substantial stake in that it potentially could block a break-up option and sale to a rival.

But most analysts believed Wesfarmers would be cautious about overpaying for a rapidly deteriorating business and could offer a price below $16.47.

While Credit Suisse analyst Michael Jenneke said $16.47 was “a high-water mark” rather than a floor price, UBS analyst Michael Peet said Wesfarmers would be careful not to “low ball” its bid because it needed the support of the Coles board.

The Coles board last year rebuffed a $15.25-a-share offer from private equity groups led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, saying it “substantially undervalued” the company. But Coles’ performance since has deteriorated.

A decision on Coles’ future could be known as early as Monday.

The top two storeys of a central London building collapsed today, sending tonnes of debris and dust cascading into the street below.

Although witnesses reported hearing a loud noise shortly before the partial collapse at the five-storey structure in Dean Farrar Street, a small road close to New Scotland Yard in Victoria, police said there was no evidence of an explosion.

Around 50 firefighters went to the scene following reports that large pieces of debris had crushed vehicles and motorbikes in the street below.

Ambulance staff said that although the area was busy at the time of the collapse - which happened at around 4pm - only one person was injured.

The building was reportedly undergoing extensive renovation work, and the offices inside included the campaign headquarters of the Labour deputy leadership contender Hazel Blears.

Office space in the structure was hired by a wide variety of different organisations, a spokesman for Ms Blears’ campaign said.

“It is usually packed with people, but our activists did not see anyone injured,” he added.

One eyewitness said he rushed out of his office after hearing a loud noise. “I was in the office opposite, when all of a sudden there was a loud bang. I thought it was a bomb,” Surinder Purewal, who works in the Metropolitan police authority building opposite, said.

“I came out of the office and told the staff to get back. I saw the whole building come down - there was a lot of dust.”

Television pictures showed that the top of the building had collapsed into itself, causing extensive damage.

“I heard a crash and saw all the rubble and the dust and everything,” another witness, 21-year-old Jason Burrows, said.

“There was lots of smoke in the air and rubble on the floor. There was a van, which was bigger than a Transit van … the front was all crushed by a slab of concrete.”

Robert Lewis, who works for Transport for London in a nearby office, said his motorbike had been crushed under the rubble.

“I could see the top floor of the building that was being worked on had collapsed,” he said. “All I could see was a pile of rubble where the bikes were.”