alt Hacker News> firm
That's the opposite of what you want. You want something that is cost-effective to operate at a 10%, 1% or 0.1% duty cycle. Like nat gas or hydro. Not nuclear.
And overbuilding isn't the only lever you have to ensure coverage meets your target 99.99% level -- geographic diversity works really well (the wind is always blowing somewhere), and wind power production is usually negatively correlated with solar power production.
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> Like nat gas or hydro
Since hydro is impossible to "just" build, that's gas only. No, there's no "nat" gas.
> geographic diversity works really well
"Give up your energy independence :)" I'm sure world leaders are eager to jump on that great idea.
"and wind power production is usually negatively correlated with solar power production"
Well, that should be fine, I only usually need electricity.
You are very wrong. US base load demand is around 400GW that must be provided 24/7
Natural gas and hydro are firm power. You're correct that nuclear is not a good backup power source, but that's not the suggestion. The question is whether adding high-capacity-factor firm generation reduces total system cost. In regions where hydro and geothermal are unavailable, nuclear is the next best low-carbon option. I think you're underestimating the costs and difficulties associated with 100% renewables, especially transmission capacity between regions.