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.

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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.

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

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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.

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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?

Read more on Scientific American