Coal-fired power plants were first and now natural gas-fired power plants are getting the ax, particularly in states with high mandates for renewable energy
California, Arizona, Michigan, and Massachusetts are saying “no” to new natural gas generating plants, and California even wants to get rid of some of its older gas plants. Recently, the California Public Utilities Commission directed Pacific Gas and Electric, the state’s largest electric utility, to solicit bids for renewable energy and storage projects to replace three natural gas plants. In Arizona, regulators voted for a nine-month pause on any new large gas-fired power plants and told the state’s largest investor-owned utilities that their future plans relied too heavily on natural gas and should include more wind and solar, electricity storage, and energy efficiency. In Michigan, CMS Energy Corp. had to back off from plans to expand a gas-fired plant in Dearborn due to environmentalists claiming that it would worsen air quality.