6 Websites to View the British Energy Grid
Energy plays a vital role in society, but where does the power come from? These six websites show where energy comes from in real-time; this lets you be better informed about your energy consumption and track progress towards a net-zero grid.
Winderful
Winderful displays wind power generation for the UK in real-time. The minimal website tracks current, weekly, monthly and yearly data allowing you to see trends. It can be hard to understand what 10,000 MW is, but Winderful tries to explain it with standard electronics such as 10 million hair dryers. With social media accounts on X and Mastodon, you can track the grid without the website.
Shift
Shift recommends the least intense two-hour period within the next 24 hours to help you minimise your carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions on a regional level. The concept is to shift your heavy energy consumption, such as washing machines, tumble dryers and dishwashers, to the peak. You can select different regions, which allows you to view the current emissions per kWh and the energy mix for that area.
Electricity Maps
Electricity Maps allows you to see real-time data across the world. Choosing a country on the map will show you the percentage of low-carbon and renewable energy created, further broken down with electricity production by source. Using data from various sources, they estimate the carbon value attributed to each power source. A unique feature is seeing where power is being imported or exported; the UK imports energy from France and Norway, to name a few.
Energy Dashboard
Energy Dashboard is a UK-exclusive site; however, it has features I have not seen anywhere else. While many sites listed show the current grid performance with renewables and none, this shows where the sources are listed. You can filter the map to show gas, nuclear, coal, hydro and even anaerobic digestion. You can find the biggest producers based on the circle size; when you click on one, you can see if it is operational when commissioned and the capacity.
My Grid GB
My Grid is a simple website with a pie chart showing energy production. The website uses distinctive colours to differentiate each power source and lists the percentage of the grid they are adding. Alongside this information, you can see the current rate of low carbon energy, power generation (GW) and carbon intensity.
National Grid Live
National Grid Live, made by Kate, displays information with regular updates. The website is user-friendly, with question marks next to data allowing you to find out more about how it is collected, comes from or what the different types of energy are. You can track data from the last day, week, year, and all time. This website is the only one on the list showing the energy price per MWh.
