baseload

noun

base·​load ˈbās-ˌlōd 

: 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 power

Wind 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

Coal and natural gas plants that once provided steady, affordable baseload power have been retired in droves. —Derrick Hollie, Boston Herald, 26 Sep. 2025

The proposal focuses on Type One Energy’s Infinity Two power plant design, a 350 megawatt-electric (350 MWe) facility intended to provide baseload power to the grid. —Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 24 Sep. 2025

The plan to tap geothermal energy answered the key question of power provision, getting around Africa’s chronically weak grids with the green, baseload electricity required for digital infrastructure. —Alexis Akwagyiram, semafor.com, 22 Sep. 2025

Demand growth, baseload retirements, extreme weather, and policy paralysis are colliding to create a fragile system. —Robert Rapier, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

base entry 1 + load entry 1

First Known Use

1907, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for baseload

• afterload
• episode
• internode
• microcode
• multimode
• nematode
• nesselrode
• overflowed
• overload
• overrode
• radioed
• torpedoed