> it's hard to know whether this is really a big deal or just a normal retirement of older power plants for newer, cleaner alternatives.
Why isn't retirement of older power plants for newer, cleaner alternatives a big deal? If it's a lot of power plants and they're a lot cleaner, that's an impact.
That's exactly the problem, though. If you don't already know something about the power industry, there's no way to tell from the article whether this is "a lot" (enough to be an intentional trend) or just one or two aging out.
Why isn't retirement of older power plants for newer, cleaner alternatives a big deal? If it's a lot of power plants and they're a lot cleaner, that's an impact.