In July 2022, Britain's electricity averaged 210 gCO₂/kWh, in the moderate band (140–219 g). That is 15% dirtier than June 2022 (183 g), and about the same as July 2021 (208 g). Gas made 45.0% of the electricity generated, wind 19.7%, nuclear 16.0% and solar 6.3%; low-carbon sources together made 49.3%. The cleanest half hour was 70 g at 10:00 on Sunday 24 July, and the dirtiest 307 g at 23:30 on Sunday 31 July. Sunday 24 July was both the cleanest day (105 g on average) and the windiest (47.8% wind).
Carbon intensity, day by day
Day by day, as a table
| Day | gCO₂/kWh | Low-carbon | Wind | Solar | Gas | Half hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 1 Jul | 234 | 44.4% | 14.8% | 5.6% | 52.5% | 48 |
| Sat 2 Jul | 174 | 56.4% | 27.4% | 6.0% | 40.8% | 48 |
| Sun 3 Jul | 190 | 52.3% | 21.4% | 6.8% | 43.2% | 48 |
| Mon 4 Jul | 157 | 62.1% | 34.1% | 6.0% | 35.6% | 48 |
| Tue 5 Jul | 218 | 47.7% | 16.9% | 6.1% | 45.7% | 48 |
| Wed 6 Jul | 153 | 63.2% | 36.9% | 4.7% | 31.9% | 48 |
| Thu 7 Jul | 187 | 54.7% | 26.7% | 6.1% | 40.4% | 48 |
| Fri 8 Jul | 213 | 47.1% | 17.6% | 7.6% | 46.5% | 48 |
| Sat 9 Jul | 181 | 51.3% | 20.1% | 8.8% | 40.7% | 48 |
| Sun 10 Jul | 206 | 45.6% | 8.8% | 10.4% | 45.5% | 48 |
| Mon 11 Jul | 239 | 44.8% | 13.5% | 7.5% | 50.5% | 48 |
| Tue 12 Jul | 208 | 52.2% | 24.1% | 4.1% | 42.7% | 48 |
| Wed 13 Jul | 214 | 49.7% | 20.2% | 6.6% | 42.8% | 48 |
| Thu 14 Jul | 229 | 43.4% | 11.8% | 7.5% | 48.3% | 48 |
| Fri 15 Jul | 218 | 45.4% | 16.1% | 6.2% | 48.8% | 48 |
| Sat 16 Jul | 218 | 42.1% | 8.5% | 8.8% | 50.3% | 48 |
| Sun 17 Jul | 191 | 51.7% | 18.8% | 8.0% | 44.0% | 48 |
| Mon 18 Jul | 221 | 45.4% | 13.9% | 7.1% | 48.1% | 48 |
| Tue 19 Jul | 210 | 50.2% | 20.5% | 6.3% | 45.6% | 48 |
| Wed 20 Jul | 195 | 52.5% | 23.5% | 6.1% | 42.9% | 48 |
| Thu 21 Jul | 229 | 45.2% | 15.1% | 5.4% | 49.0% | 48 |
| Fri 22 Jul | 255 | 38.1% | 6.3% | 5.3% | 55.2% | 48 |
| Sat 23 Jul | 197 | 53.4% | 24.6% | 5.4% | 42.2% | 48 |
| Sun 24 Jul | 105 | 74.8% | 47.8% | 6.0% | 20.9% | 48 |
| Mon 25 Jul | 167 | 63.9% | 37.7% | 4.3% | 32.4% | 48 |
| Tue 26 Jul | 229 | 45.1% | 16.0% | 5.5% | 46.4% | 48 |
| Wed 27 Jul | 259 | 36.6% | 5.5% | 5.7% | 53.2% | 48 |
| Thu 28 Jul | 260 | 40.0% | 12.0% | 4.1% | 54.3% | 48 |
| Fri 29 Jul | 261 | 40.0% | 11.1% | 6.6% | 53.6% | 48 |
| Sat 30 Jul | 233 | 46.2% | 21.9% | 4.3% | 48.4% | 48 |
| Sun 31 Jul | 245 | 42.0% | 16.7% | 5.6% | 51.5% | 48 |
What powered the grid
Each fuel's average share of the electricity generated in Great Britain in July 2022, with July 2021 beneath it for comparison. Imports count as one source, as NESO counts them.
Hours in each carbon band
- Low (70–139 g): 45 hours, 6%
- Moderate (140–219 g): 378 hours, 51%
- High (220–299 g): 319 hours, 43%
- Very high (300 g or more): 3 hours, 0%
Records in July 2022
- Cleanest half hour
- 70 g 10:00 on Sunday 24 July
- Dirtiest half hour
- 307 g 23:30 on Sunday 31 July
- Most wind
- 59.8% 02:30 on Sunday 24 July
- Most solar
- 30.2% 13:00 on Sunday 10 July
- Most low-carbon
- 82.8% 06:30 on Sunday 24 July
- Least gas
- 12.0% 09:00 on Sunday 24 July
- Cleanest day
- 105 g Sunday 24 July
- Dirtiest day
- 261 g Friday 29 July
- Windiest day
- 47.8% wind Sunday 24 July
- Sunniest day
- 10.4% solar Sunday 10 July
About these figures
GridMonkey records NESO's carbon intensity and generation mix for Great Britain every half hour: the actual figure where NESO has published one, otherwise its forecast. They are added up by UK calendar day and month. Percentages are shares of the electricity generated, imports included, so the fuels add up to 100%. Low-carbon means wind, solar, nuclear, biomass and hydro. The carbon bands are GridMonkey's: very low under 70 g, low 70–139 g, moderate 140–219 g, high 220–299 g and very high 300 g or more, per kWh. Northern Ireland has its own grid and isn't included.
To see the grid now, open GridMonkey. For the wind farms that ran hardest this week, see the wind farm league table.
Data: NESO Carbon Intensity API (carbonintensity.org.uk), licensed under CC BY 4.0, recorded and summarised by GridMonkey. Figures as of 25 October 2026.