If you like to stay ahead of emerging energy trends, you should keep a close eye on the data developed by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The stuff is gold.

Recently, I have been studying a report they have put out called PRIMARY ENERGY CONSUMPTION BY SOURCE. It tracks the obvious - that in the recession our energy use has fallen - last year down 4.6 percent from 2008 and 6.6 percent from 2007.

The amount of our energy consumption tied to coal last year was at the lowest level since at least 1995 - 14 years back. That is what the numbers say. Aging coal plants are being retired - particularly those that are decades old and could give their owners financial fits if Congress ever enacts a carbon emissions abatement regime. Also, you have heard that construction of coal-burning generation plants is, so to speak, on a back-burner. That tells the story as well.

What about natural gas? True our energy consumption tied to natural gas is down slightly the last year or two. But last year it was at a level that about equalled or exceded the figures posted for most of the 1995-2006 timeframe.

And renewables - were responsible for churning out a scant 8.2 percent of our consumed energy last year. But the march is upward. In fact, the amount of our consumed energy coming from renewables last year was up 15.2 percent from 2007. And remember, our overall energy use during that time frame went south - declining 6.6 percent.

Iasked the good folks at US EIA to give me their projections and they quickly pointed me to a table that is set all the way out to 2035 - a neat 25 years from now.

Our overall energy consumption between 2007 and 2035 will grow at an annual average rate of about 0.5 percent. Natural gas and coal - will account for a slightly larger amount of energy consumed than today.

Can that be true? I wonder what the government pencil pushers are assuming about the political forces behind a global warming abatement campaign, the charge of the renewables light brigade and the nuclear power plant proponents... the preachers or efficiency...

Could it be that the more things will change, the more they will stay the same?

 Or will there be game-changers? Any one know how many plug-in electric vehicles will be tooling around in 2035?