Physically they can ramp down to 50% but generation is pretty much a sunk cost at that point so it makes the bad economics even worse. That would mean that you are paying of the order of $240/MWh instead of $120/MWh.
For comparison solar/wind are about $30-40. Levelizing with pumped storage pushes that up to $60-$70.
IIRC France and Germany almost exclusively use gas for load following. Even at current prices it's vastly cheaper than using a NPP to do it.
For comparison solar/wind are about $30-40. Levelizing with pumped storage pushes that up to $60-$70.
IIRC France and Germany almost exclusively use gas for load following. Even at current prices it's vastly cheaper than using a NPP to do it.