California built many gas-fired combined cycle plants because they were cheap, gas was cheap, and (when they were built) “clean” and low-carbon.
The green kooks changed their minds and decided CH4 has too much C in it and they have shut down a lot of the gas plants.
Frankly, the whole situation is criminal. You should use coal and lignite to make electricity and save natural gas for high-value uses like home and commercial heating, making fertilizer, etc.
That is true but the commies have convinced everyone through the media that coal is “dirty”. It is probably one of the most regulated entities in America. They like to show stacks belching out thick columns of “pollution,” which mostly is water vapor. Why West Virginia still has any democrats that govern in their state is beyond me.