peaker plant

1. A supplemental power plant that operates only when demand for power is high. These plants often run on natural gas.

Example Sentences

The facility had been operating as a peaker plant, providing electricity on the handful of days each year when demand spiked.

From Salon

Before crypto mining entered the picture, Greenidge was expected to serve primarily as a “peaker plant” that would start up whenever the grid might need extra electricity to meet high demand.

From The Verge

With those lines back up, the gas-fired peaker plant can provide some much-needed juice.

From The Verge

It’s what’s called a “peaker” plant, which only fires up when energy demand “peaks” — or when there’s a major disruption to supply like a hurricane.

From The Verge

Can a device given the somewhat baffling name of “PV peaker plant” begin to solve some of the nation’s most pressing climate-related energy problems?

From Scientific American