Practical Law Glossary Item 0-517-6466 (Approx. 2 pages)
Glossary
Base Load Plant
Power plants that generally run at their full installed capacity and that are used to meet base load demand. Except for scheduled maintenance or repairs, these facilities operate 24 hours per day, year round. As a result, base load plants generally have a capacity factor of more than 80%. Base load power plants are generally large-scale hydroelectric, coal, natural gas and nuclear power plants.