GE's Inland Empire Energy Center, a 750-megawatt natural gas-fueled plant located in Riverside County, California, built in 2009 is shutting down 20 years early. 

The culprit? Affordable wind and solar energy, which are surging in California, and outdated technology. 

On most days, California generates roughly 50% of its energy from renewable sources, with new records set every few weeks. See here for an up-to-the-minute breakdown of where California's energy comes from. 

The trend is a long-term one, as California has pledged to eliminate fossil fuels in its energy supply by 2045, and recently met its 2020 emissions and renewable energy goals several years early. That's bad news for natural gas- and coal-fired power plants.

A representative from GE told Reuters, “We have made the decision to shut down operation of the Inland Empire Power Plant, which has been operating below capacity for several years, effective at the end of 2019.” The plant, according to the representative, “is powered by a legacy gas turbine technology ... and is uneconomical to support further.”

GE added, that because the gas-fired power plant's turbines take about an hour to power up, it is not well-suited to meet California's ever-fluctuating power demands.  Simply put, the plant was “not designed for the needs of the evolving California market, which requires fast-start capabilities to satisfy peak demand periods.”

According to Reuters, GE is selling the plant, fittingly, to a company that makes battery storage assemblies.