21 June

In the energy debates, lots of mention of 'baseload power'. The public is encouraged to believe this is the minimum amount of 24/7 power that is needed to keep society running. That's not baseload power. Baseload is demand, not supply. The load on the grid. It's in the name. Baseload is the amount of power consumers have to USE, to prevent the grid collapsing. Coal-fired power stations can't be switched off and on every night, they need to run constantly. If we don't use enough power, they're in serious trouble, and the stability of the grid collapses. That's also why 'off peak' rates were invented, to try to use the overnight capacity from the coal plants. They're big dumb dinosaurs, 18th century technology. A nuclear plant is just a coal plant with a reactor instead of a furnace. Still that same 18th century process of heating water to create steam, to drive a turbine, which generates electricity. They're even slower to ramp up and down when needed, than a coal plant. So we don't need 'baseload' power. It's a pain in the neck, an artefact of 18th century technology. We need energy delivered only when it's needed. And know what does that superbly? Renewables. You 'overbuild' (create much more than you need), because renewables are SO cheap. This gives you the capacity to turn them off and on as needed, to meet instant demand. And they are literally instant. Then you add some storage, though much less than people think (we're in bed when 'the sun doesn't shine', and wind blows 24 hours per day, and even more at night than in the day time).