What is Electricity Map?
Using numbers, graphs, and colours, the Electricity Map shows you how much CO2 was emitted to produce the electricity consumed across Europe. It is a real-time interactive online visualisation of the carbon intensity of electricity generation and cross-border electricity flows and the CO2 emissions caused by this.
The Electricity Map was launched in September 2016 by Tomorrow. This pan-European open-source project has integrated into an interactive map of Europe real-time data on:
- sources used in electricity generation,
- cross-border electricity flows,
- the amount of CO2 emitted as a result of electricity generation, import and export.
Using weather data, the map also helps estimate the potential for solar and wind power in EU countries. It can visualise wind speed and direction as well as the current cloud cover across Europe.
The Electricity Map is a work in progress and is continuously being upgraded.
Link to the Electricity Map: https://www.electricitymap.org
Read more about the project on BUILD UP (The European Portal for Energy Efficiency in Buildings)
Time-lapse of Europe's carbon intensity in one year
The team behind the Electricity Map have made a time-lapse video showing the carbon intensity of electricity generation and flows across Europe for the period from October 2016 to September 2017.
The video reveals some interesting details:
- France, Norway and Sweden have low CO2 emissions per kWh throughout the year (green).
- The carbon intensity of other European countries fluctuates considerably (from green through orange and brown, to black), depending mostly on weather and the growing share of renewables in the energy mix.
- Switzerland changes its 'carbon colour' from bright green (emissions below 100 gCO2eq/kWh) to brown (up to 500 gCO2eq/kWh), depending on how much electricity is imported from its neighbour in the north, Germany, a country that relies heavily on coal in its electricity generation.
