Through out the day electricity demand fluctuates rapidly[1], talking about a 30-50% fluctuation between 6am and 6pm. I really don't understand your post, the need for reactive plants would still be needed (and used) without solar power generation. The limiting factor is to make sure that solar fits within the band between the baseline constant load and dispatch provider power. As long as Solar isn't forcing Nuclear plants (or whatever the baseline is in your area) to ramp, it isn't a big issue. Gas plants will ramp through out the day due to our usage patterns, regardless of solar production. Only way impact this is storage.
I've also seen people argue against solar because it means that plant will have to run at variable temperatures, meaning less efficiency. This is also not true because gas stations usually output around 200MW a piece, and when you have 10s of these plants scattered you can stagger their shutdowns, allowing power plant operates to run efficiently longer.
I've also seen people argue against solar because it means that plant will have to run at variable temperatures, meaning less efficiency. This is also not true because gas stations usually output around 200MW a piece, and when you have 10s of these plants scattered you can stagger their shutdowns, allowing power plant operates to run efficiently longer.
[1]http://media.cns-snc.ca/ontarioelectricity/ontarioelectricit...