Post #1238591

2026-04-14 08:35 UTC

Energy consumption goes up and down throughout the day, but the "base load" is the minimum amount, even at the lowest point in the day. So nuclear power is good for providing this "base" because it's consistent and always running. The issue is that renewables sometimes output so much electricity that, especially when it's sunny, the grid makes *way* too much electricity. The electricity consumption of the grid minus renewables is called the "residual load", and it very very often goes NEGATIVE.

Replies (1)

@notjustbikes@social.notjustbikes.com 2026-04-14 08:38

This means that the concept of "base load" is not really relevant, because there is no consistent base. And when the residual load goes negative, the wholesale price of electricity goes negative as well. Last year the Netherlands had negative wholesale electricity prices for about 7% of the year, and that amount is only going to grow. You can't afford to run a nuclear reactor when electricity prices are negative, but you also can't shut it down every day either.

Open ##1238592