A U.S. Senate clean air panel on Tuesday will examine the Obama administration’s controversial Clean Power Plan and Republican efforts to block its proposed regulations on coal-fired power plants.

The panel, a subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, is led by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. In addition to reviewing proposed regulations, the panel will discuss a bill Capito introduced last month that would not only block the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan but make it nearly impossible for similar rules to be written without first meeting Congressional requirements.

Called the Affordable Reliable Energy Now Act, the bill is the “principal legislative vehicle” Capito hopes will halt federal greenhouse gas emission regulations that she, other Senate Republicans and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin claim will cost billions, jeopardize hundreds of thousands of energy jobs and spike utilities costs across the country.

The Clean Power Plan, termed by many opponents as “far-reaching,” is expected to hit coal-producing states hardest as it sets up a nationwide carbon emissions reduction goal requiring states to make meaningful progress in the next five years. The plan was proposed last June and, once finalized later this summer, will require states to cut emissions by 30 percent before 2030.

Coal-fired power plants produce 40 percent of the country’s electricity, but that number is expected to decrease under the plan.

While states are afforded some flexibility in setting their own reduction procedures, the proposed plan has faced fierce political opposition from officials in coal-producing and dependent states. West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, whose 15-state coalition has been unsuccessful in having a federal court review the legality of the plan, said its requirements are so severe no state will be able to comply.

A recent study, however, found that West Virginia could reasonably meet the EPA guidelines if the Legislature lifted restrictions that hinder the state Department of Environmental Protection from developing a compliance plan.

The report, compiled by West Virginia University’s College of Law Center for Energy and Sustainable Development, also found compliance could be attained if power companies would use alternative energy sources and find ways for existing plants to use natural gas.

Industry leaders don’t see that as an option though.

“We aren’t going to stand by and trade out coal jobs for gas jobs,” said Chris Hamilton, senior vice president of the West Virginia Coal Association. Hamilton, addressing a group of state lawmakers and industry officials earlier this month at a coal forum in Charleston, went on to say he isn’t willing to concede the market to natural gas, which he called a competitor.

WVU’s study also has been criticized by industry leaders.

In a Department of Environmental Protection advisory council meeting last week, West Virginia Coal Association President Bill Raney grew irritated when members were asked if they had reviewed the study. He said it was nothing more than an EPA paraphrase stamped with the school’s label.

While the report’s authors acknowledge the various challenges that will come with complying, they say West Virginia has the resources — namely expanding wind, solar and natural gas use — to meet them.

It also said compliance will likely have little effect on the amount of coal mined in West Virginia because more than 40 percent of coal burned in the state is imported. Other states’ compliance plans could greatly effect West Virginia though, the report concluded.

Opponents say the plan, even though it hasn’t been finalized yet, already is having a harmful impact in West Virginia.

In response to the proposed regulations, Appalachian Power recently closed three plants and Murray Energy Corporation announced it would lay off as many as 1,800 miners, some of which are expected to be in West Virginia. At a coal summit earlier this month, industry officials declared the closures and layoffs a crisis.

Utility rates for American Electric Power subsidiaries in West Virginia also were increased last month by 11.8 percent due to the company’s recent $407 million power plant investments to meet new environmental regulations.

When she introduced her bill, Capito said she seeks a “common sense agreement” that assures reliable and affordable energy.

If passed into law, Capito’s bill would allow states to opt out of the Clean Power Plan if a governor determines state and federal regulations would negatively impact economic growth or raise consumer electricity prices. Other key provisions include extending the deadline for states to submit compliance plans, prohibiting the EPA from withholding highway funds for non-compliant states and requiring technology-based standards to be tested and achieved for at least one year before implementation.

It also would require the EPA to issue state-specific plans demonstrating how each state could meet required emission reductions.

The Senate hearing, housed in Dirksen Senate Office Building 406, will start at 2 p.m. It will be broadcast live at www.epw.senate.gov.