Capacity factor
The ratio of energy a generator actually produced to what it would have produced running flat out over the same period.
Capacity factor is delivered energy divided by nameplate capacity multiplied by time. A fleet rated at one gigawatt that delivers the equivalent of 350 megawatts averaged over a year has a capacity factor of thirty-five percent. It is the single most useful number for turning an installed base into an energy expectation.
It is also routinely misread, in two directions. An annual average conceals exactly the hours a buyer is exposed to, which is why it is not a substitute for firm power; and a falling capacity factor can reflect curtailment rather than a worse resource, meaning the asset is working and the network is not taking its output.
Because the number moves with weather, maintenance and transmission constraint, it is only meaningful with a period and a location attached. That is why it belongs next to the weather actually over an asset rather than in an annual report.
Evidence that keeps pace with the decision.
Evaluate Nuclir against the systems, markets, and decisions that matter to your organization. The result is current intelligence with the context needed to use it responsibly.