U.S. coal use for electricity, 2002-2007

Receipts of Coal Delivered for the Electric Power Industry -- Electric Power Annual, Energy Information Association, January 21, 2009

2002:   869,929,000 tons
2003:   949,191,000
2004:   965,057,000
2005:   986,213,000
2006: 1,043,681,000
2007: 1,016,236,000

Direct Use and Retail Sales of Electricity, Total Electric Industry -- Electric Power Annual, Energy Information Association, January 21, 2009

2002: 3,631,650,307 MWh
2003: 3,662,029,012
2004: 3,715,949,485
2005: 3,810,984,044
2006: 3,816,845,452
2007: 3,923,814,234

Coal delivered per electricity used (ratio of above figures)

2002: 0.2395410 ton/MWh
2003: 0.2591981
2004: 0.2597067
2005: 0.2587817
2006: 0.2734407
2007: 0.2589919

That doesn't look like less coal being burned because of increasing wind capacity (from 4,275 MW at the beginning of 2002 to 11,603 MW at the end of 2006), as claimed by the wind energy industry. In fact, the trend appears to be more coal burned per unit of electricity, a phenomenon seen in the U.K. as well, even as coal's share of electricity production is decreasing:

   GWh from coal--Total GWh--Proportion from coal
2002:  1,933,130  3,858,452  0.5010118
2003:  1,973,737  3,883,185  0.5082779
2004:  1,978,301  3,970,555  0.4982429
2005:  2,012,873  4,055,423  0.4963411
2006:  1,990,511  4,064,702  0.4897065
2007:  2,016,456  4,156,745  0.4851046

Wind on the grid may be having the exact opposite effect that its promoters claim.

wind power, wind energy, environment, environmentalism