flacaltenn
Diamond Member
Standard generation has to have a backup. That is why there are peaker plants. But that backup does not have to be fossil fuels. In fact, the combination of batteries and pumped hydro is not only cheaper than gas peaker plants, their use results in a more stable grid.
Peaker plants are LEVELERS,. They just take care of PEAKs.. Technically, they are NOT backbone generators.. Solar is a PEAKER -- Not an alternative. Because with a peaker plant, you can DEFER the building of more capacity...
It's not about "backing up" your existing capacity due to reliability issues.