Days

Most of the solar PV installed capacity in the world is grid connected and is not baseload. In other words, when it produces power, other power plants have to be modulated, idled, stopped and then when later in the day solar power begins to drop, those same power plants need to ramp-up production again. This creates inefficiencies, "hidden" costs and additional CO2 emissions.  The above obviously means that solar PV does not replace any conventional (usually fossil fuel) electrical generating capacity. So, the question is: can solar PV become a baseload power supplier? The answer is yes (sort of). Let's make the numbers. The first disclaimer is that we are going to make some simplifications . Things in real life are obviously more complex, but bear with us. The project is to install a 1 GW baseload solar PV power plant. Here are the numbers: Constant required output: 1 GW. Annual capacity factor for solar PV (in a specific location th...