Base load

Some early nuclear plants, such as the VVER-440 (pictured at Metsamor) were designed for baseload operation [1]

The base load[2] (also baseload) is the minimum level of demand on an electrical grid over a span of time, for example, one week. This demand can be met by unvarying power plants[3] or dispatchable generation,[4] depending on which approach has the best mix of cost, availability and reliability in any particular market. The remainder of demand, varying throughout a day, is met by intermittent sources together with dispatchable generation (such as load following power plants, peaking power plants, which can be turned up or down quickly) or energy storage.

Power plants that do not change their power output quickly, such as some large coal or nuclear plants, are generally called baseload power plants.[3][5][6] In the 20th century most or all of base load demand was met with baseload power plants,[7] whereas new capacity based around renewables often employs flexible generation.[8]

  1. ^ Szondy, Borbála; Bodnár, Balázs; Grossetête, Alain; Gain, Thibaut; Aszódi, Attila (2024). "Review of solutions developed for improving maneuvering flexibility in German, French and Russian PWRs targeting to explore future possibilities for the new VVER-1200 nuclear power plant units in Hungary". Nuclear Engineering and Design. 419. Bibcode:2024NuEnD.41912965S. doi:10.1016/j.nucengdes.2024.112965.
  2. ^ "Definition of "baseload"". www.merriam-webster.com. Merriam Webster Dictionary. Retrieved 2018-12-02.
  3. ^ a b Donald G. Fink, H. Wayne Beatty (ed), Standard Handbook for Electrical Engineers, Eleventh Edition, Mc-Graw Hill, 1978 ISBN 9780070209749, pp. 12-16 through 12-18
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference pembina was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Energy Dictionary - Baseload plant". EnergyVortex.com. Archived from the original on 2009-02-15. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
  6. ^ July 10; Alum, 2017 Kevin Steinberger-Alum Miles Farmer- (10 July 2017). "Debunking Three Myths About "Baseload"". NRDC. Retrieved 2022-01-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "The Baseload Fallacy". Energy Global. 2023-08-02. Retrieved 2024-04-07.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference holliday was invoked but never defined (see the help page).