Older power plants are being retired at an unprecedented pace as power producers wage a fierce fight for market share. They are being supplanted by newer power plants fired by natural gas, as well as wind and solar farms, which often are simpler to operate and require fewer workers. Natural gas is typically delivered straight to power plants by pipeline—no unloading required. Wind and solar farms don’t require fuel to make power, so they don’t need workers to procure, deliver or process it. Nuclear power plants, the most complex power producers—and the ones with the highest safety and security risks—require the most workers, including about 9,000 armed guards at the country’s 62 nuclear facilities.

Source: Wall Street Journal January 15, 2018 12:56 UTC