> Who is building and operating a plant (these need to be more or less 1:1 per MW to back your intermittent power sources) that sits idle 95% of the time? This

> Who is building and operating a plant (these need to be more or less 1:1 per MW to back your intermittent power sources) that sits idle 95% of the time? This is what the capacity market is for; ensure the plant needed to operate the grid can pay the bills. https://www.utilitydive.com/news/pjm-interconnection-capacity-auction-vistra-constellation/722872/ https://www.utilitydive.com/news/pjm-interconnection-capacit... It does feel like an inefficient use of capital. My best explanations for intermittents are 1) they are fuel savers, making natural gas cleaner by having them run less; 2) they siphon money into the generator’s pockets (from taxes via the Inflation Reduction Act and other subsidies, from other electricity generators via renewable energy mandates, from the utilities via rooftop solar which reduces the consumption when energy is easier/less costly to produce).