4 ms·
Seems like a less than useful comparison, given the very different utilization factors. For solar you'd need five times the capacity to get the same average pow
by dn3500 2y ago
Seems like a less than useful comparison, given the very different utilization factors. For solar you'd need five times the capacity to get the same average power.
- bryanlarsen 2y agoNot as much as you'd think. China's coal capacity factor is around 50% and dropping rapidly. Much of their coal is used in peaker plants.
- MichaelNolan 2y agoYeah, for some reason people seem to assume that coal and natural gas all run at 95%+ capacity factors. I don’t have any data for China, but in the US coal’s CF was 42% and gas combined cycle was 58% in 2023. The EIA publishes monthly and yearly capacity factors by generating type. https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=table_6_07_a https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.ph...
- aaron695 2y ago[dead]
- taneq 2y agoDepending on the uptime requirements you probably want more like 10x base load. Solar generation will cap out under good conditions but for year round, you’ve got to handle stints of bad weather and much shorter winter days.