> Why on earth would you run a nuclear power plant as a peaker? That’s inefficient and wasteful. You run a nuclear power plant at full tilt, all the time. Then you divy up any excess demand to other sources of power.
Because you have no choice. There simply are not takers for your expensive energy when competing against zero marginal cost renewables.
In Australia there are grids which sometimes are met to 107% with rooftop solar alone. [1] All utility scale renewables are curtailed, let alone expensive thermal plants.
In these grids what was previously "base load" plants running at full tilt 24/7 are forced to become peakers or shut down. [2]
Because you have no choice. There simply are not takers for your expensive energy when competing against zero marginal cost renewables.
In Australia there are grids which sometimes are met to 107% with rooftop solar alone. [1] All utility scale renewables are curtailed, let alone expensive thermal plants.
In these grids what was previously "base load" plants running at full tilt 24/7 are forced to become peakers or shut down. [2]
[1]: https://reneweconomy.com.au/rooftop-solar-meets-107-5-pct-of...
[2]: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-13/australian-coal-plant...