Note that the figures on the graph show the percentages of each fuel used to generate electricity.
The slide title is true, but misleading; coal’s share declines, but actual coal usage is forecast to increase by over 15% from 2008 to 2035. Natural gas increases by almost 25%. Nukes only increase by 11%, and that assumes a 20-year extension (to 60 years) on the certification of existing plants.
Slide 21 shows the detail of the “Renewable” slice.
Source: EIA Annual Energy Outlook 2010
This graph depicts how the EIA thinks we’ll be ramping up our use of renewable energy for electrical generation over the next 25 years. Notice how the use of windmills grows explosively over the first four years, then abruptly stops. Biomass takes up the slack. Biomass?!
Biomass has generated energy from the time it created the first fire, and wood is still the largest bioenergy resource available today. Other sources include food crops, grasses, agricultural residues, manure and methane from landfills.
Source: EIA Annual Energy Outlook 2010
Maley's Energy Blog 