In most cases, the term baseload is used to refer to coal and nuclear plants, but it can also be used to refer to large reservoir hydro, geothermal, or to biomass or biogas power plants. And for much of the last century, these baseload power plants (particularly coal and hydro) were often among the lowest-cost options to meet electricity demand.
With the rise of low-cost wind and solar power, this baseload paradigm has come under strain. Utilities and regulators interested in keeping electricity prices low are starting to introduce variable renewables like wind and solar at scale instead: since the latter have zero marginal costs, they typically get dispatched first, making them by default the new foundation of the power system. In the process, other generating units are having to ramp and flex around them.
However, as this report shows, the transition from a “baseload paradigm” to a “renewables paradigm” is starting to generate pushback – in fact, many experts and power system engineers continue struggle to envision a power system operating reliably without baseload power.
How should a system without baseload power work? What about the dreaded “Dunkelflaute”, the extended periods with little wind, and little solar that occur once or twice a year in countries like Germany?
This report attempts to help both experts and lay persons better understand this transformation. A look around the world shows without the shadow of a doubt that a future “beyond baseload” is not only possible: it’s already taking shape.
