Follow up to the ongoing 'Plan to Zero' articles:
Some argue baseload is a fictional idea, and other argue that baseload is a critical portion of the grid.
What is known is that there is load on the grid 24/366.
Agree or disagree with the definition, the grid requires power all the time, and the baseload definition is useful to sort the generation needs.
--
Today coal, nuclear, and natural gas to provide that 24/365 load support. The existing nuclear plants were designed to be baseload plants (new designs are far more flexible) – the same output every hour of the year. combined cycle natural gas plants are far more efficient run that way, but they have a lot of flexibility.
Storage can provide a baseload analog but need to be constantly “fueled” to keep operating, like natural gas plant. The hard part is that you must both provide the input and have it output at the same time – the advantage to this is cleaner power in the system overall and for pumped hydro, a big inertia boost.
--
Likely (and some people will violently disagree) some level of new nuclear will be required. How much is not something that can be answered without a cohesive plan being ENGINEERED for the grid.
New plant designs have 60 years of design and research since the current plant designs were finished in the 1950s for the existing generation of plant.
Today we have better materials, better design and simulation tools, better models, and better ways to recycle fuel into new fuel.
Recycling is something France does very successfully.
Likely the answer is to start with planning to replace ALL the nuclear plants, even ones that have been retired on their current sites.
It could be a series of SMR or some of the 4th generation plant designs that exist. Then a calculation for the needed additional plants. People need to consider using the heat from the plant for combined heat and power, reducing the water needs (OBTW – some of the new designs don’t need cooling water) and doubling the total efficiency of these resources.
China has proven that series construction reduces both time and cost.
The first thing we must do is tamp down the irrational fear of all things nuclear.
--
Long duration storage for the purposes of this series is 100 hours or more, with the ability to shift the power by at least 180 days from generation to use.
Sizing?
Based on a peer reviewed IEEE paper that I was one of the authors for a few years ago “Lake Michigan twice behind a 200-foot-high dam” at a minimum. In another segment of this series, I will focus on storage needs.
--
The series, based on questions is now up to 20 parts, of which 4 have been posted. I may switch to twice a week.