The article has a lot of interesting details about the history of the gas turbine and its incorporation in electrical power generation. Gas turbines first becam

The article has a lot of interesting details about the history of the gas turbine and its incorporation in electrical power generation. Gas turbines first became common in the late 1980s and the US built hundreds of gigawatts of gas turbine generating capacity between 1990 and 2005. This was back when shale gas production was less than 5% of its current rate [1] and gas was a more expensive fuel. Fast construction speed was an advantage even 30 years ago, and so is the lower number of full time employees needed to operate a CCGT plant vs. equivalent capacity from a nuclear or coal plant. But note that the turbine revolution arrived back when the US was still building coal and nuclear plants. They weren't built just for "green washing" reasons or for avoiding legal battles. [1] https://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/hist/res_epg0_r5302_nus_bcfa.htm https://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/hist/res_epg0_r5302_nus_bcfa.htm