Here's something interesting:
(snip)
Although coal is still the main fuel for electricity generation, its share of monthly power generation in the U.S. dropped below 40 percent in the last two months in 2011, according to the Energy Department. The last time coal's share of total generation was below 40 percent for a monthly total was March 1978.
A combination of mild weather in the U.S. -- the world's largest electricity market, closely followed by China -- plus mild weather led to a recent drop in total generation and the increasing price competitiveness of natural gas relative to coal.
Total U.S. electricity generation was down 7 percent in December 2011 compared to December 2010. Despite this decline, generation from natural gas rose 12 percent to 86 terawatt-hours. Coal-fired generation, however, fell by 21 percent between during the period to 132 terawatt-hours.
(endsnip)
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/3134...atural-gas.htm
Pete