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Comparison
Baseload vs Dispatchable Power
Baseload runs steadily; dispatchable follows demand. A fusion plant can do both — firm baseload that also modulates to help balance the grid.
- Baseload
- Steady, always-on output
- Dispatchable
- Output scheduled to meet demand
- Fusion
- Firm baseload + able to modulate
- Value
- Both reliability and flexibility
Two related but distinct grid roles often get conflated. Baseload generation runs steadily, providing the constant floor of demand. Dispatchable generation can be turned up or down on command to follow changing demand. The best firm generators can do both.
| Dimension | Baseload / Dispatchable |
|---|---|
| Output pattern | Steady / adjustable on demand |
| Grid role | Constant supply floor / flexibility & balancing |
A Kronos MetroVolt plant is designed as firm baseload — always-on power — while retaining the ability to modulate output to help match demand and provide grid services. That combination of steadiness and flexibility is exactly what a renewables-heavy grid needs behind its intermittent supply. See can a fusion plant follow demand?