National Grid has updated its carbon intensity forecast tool so that people can see when power is cleanest in their region.
The System Operator launched software that predicts the likely carbon intensity of power on the national system up to 48 hours ahead last September.
It has now updated the tools – which include an open API for app developers to use the data to create smart apps for households and EVs – so that users can see carbon intensity by distribution network.
The hope is that – when half hourly metering is mandated, enabling widespread time of use tariffs – people will use power when it is cheapest and cleanest.
That will also help National Grid and distribution network operators balance their systems, because it will likely increase demand when there is lots of renewable power generation, and dampen demand when the system is running tight.
The forecast tools use Met Office data and have been developed in conjunction with the Environmental Defence Fund, the Department of Computer Science, The University of Oxford and WWF.
Bryony Worthington, executive director at the Environmental Defence Fund, launched the regional tools today in Westminster. Watch her, and Duncan Burt, acting director of operations at the System Operator, explain the tools in a short video here.
See the updated carbon intensity forecast website here.
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