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> Ideally fossil fuel plants would only spin up when they could sell power at a profit Another effect is it makes these plants sit idle for periods of time. I
by adrianmonk 6y ago
> Ideally fossil fuel plants would only spin up when they could sell power at a profit
Another effect is it makes these plants sit idle for periods of time.
It costs a lot of money to build a power plant. Every hour it sits idle is an hour you're not getting any benefit out of the investment you made. So it takes longer to break even on your investment. (Possibly, as a consolation, the plant lasts longer or has lower yearly maintenance costs.)
- robocat 6y agoPeaker plants can get paid fees to be ready to deliver power, even without actually running. I think there are plants that get built, paid for as a pure peaker plant, and never run because the peaker is not required.
- lotsofpulp 6y agoIn my experience, machinery experiences more wear and tear if you repeatedly turn it off and on than just letting it run constantly. I’d expect a power plant to be the same with all the heat and whatnot.