SINCE 1828
baseload
noun
base·load
| \ ˈbās-ˌlōd
\
\
Definition of baseload
: the amount of power made available by an energy producer (such as a power plant) to meet fundamental demands by consumers
—often used before another noun baseload powerWind and solar have the drag of unreliability. Unless attached to costly batteries they are useless for meeting baseload demand.— Jonathan Fahey
Examples of baseload in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
For all its risks, nuclear remains a crucial source of low-carbon-emission baseload electric power, accounting for 18% of the advanced industrial world’s total electricity supply, and 10% of the world’s. — Charles Lane, Twin Cities, "Charles Lane: If Germany wants to achieve climate neutrality, it needs nuclear power," 5 June 2019 In its annual New Energy Outlook, BNEF sees CCGTs plateauing around 2030 as renewables eat into midload and then baseload. — David Roberts, Vox, "Clean energy is catching up to natural gas," 8 Aug. 2018 So renewable power is superfluous to power companies, but its cost reduces their ability to finance baseload power plants. — George Melloan, WSJ, "Pruitt Leaves a Proud Legacy at the EPA," 11 July 2018 So when growing numbers of baseload facilities retire, that could hypothetically threaten grid reliability. — Basav Sen, Fortune, "Trump Thinks Propping Up Failing Coal Is a ‘National Security’ Emergency," 31 May 2018 But Alison Silverstein, an energy consultant who helped draft a recent Energy Department study on grid reliability, countered that many coal plant today are simply expensive to operate for baseload power. — Dino Grandoni, Washington Post, "The Energy 202: Coal allies call on Trump administration to use emergency powers to boost business," 14 May 2018 More ways to fatten or flatten the duck: flexibility, EVs, and demand shifting What about reducing inflexible baseload capacity [coal and nuclear plants] to make more room for renewables? — David Roberts, Vox, "Solar power’s greatest challenge was discovered 10 years ago. It looks like a duck.," 31 Mar. 2018 This is known as baseload cycling, and its cost ranges from $2 to $23 per megawatt-hour. — Randy Simmons, Newsweek, "What’s the True Cost of Wind Power?," 11 Apr. 2015 Yet in 2016, according to a Western Interstate Energy Board analysis, only a small handful of plants spent more than half the year in baseload operation. — Jonathan Thompson, New Republic, "Trump Is Big Coal’s Last Gasp," 21 Sep. 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'baseload.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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