UK Carbon Intensity Scraper: National and Regional Grid

The UK carbon intensity scraper exports Great Britain's half-hourly grid carbon intensity and regional generation mix. Export to CSV, JSON, or Excel whenever you want the same half-hours saved for analysis.

A default run asks for the current national half-hour. Set both from and to when you want a longer national series. Regional mode asks for one distribution region, using IDs 1 through 17.

Use Cases

• Grid reporting: Archive national gCO2/kWh, including forecast and actual values, for any date range.
• Regional mix: Pull a specific DNO region, including the intensity band and fuel percentage breakdown.
• Forecast checks: Keep the index label (from "very low" through "very high") alongside numeric values.
• Scheduled exports: Set up automated runs to download fresh dataset updates as CSV, JSON, or Excel.
• Research notes: Reference carbon footprint data directly for academic, commercial, or personal sustainability studies.

Extracted Data Format

Intensity mode writes one row per half-hour, while regional mode writes one row per region. Every row includes scrapedAt. National rows do not include a region ID. The half-hour object stays inside data, and forecast, actual, and the index are copied to top-level fields so CSV exports remain clean and readable.

{
  "regionid": 1,
  "dnoregion": "Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution",
  "shortname": "North Scotland",
  "data": [
    {
      "from": "2026-10-11T20:30Z",
      "to": "2026-10-11T21:00Z",
      "intensity": {
        "forecast": 0,
        "index": "very low"
      },
      "generationmix": [
        {"fuel": "biomass", "perc": 0},
        {"fuel": "coal", "perc": 0}
      ]
    }
  ],
  "scrapedAt": "2026-10-12T00:00:00+00:00"
}

Data Fields

Field	Type	Description
regionid	integer	Region identifier. Omitted on national rows.
dnoregion	string	Full DNO region name.
shortname	string	Short region name (e.g., Region 1 is North Scotland).
data	array	Source periods, including intensity and generation mix.
periodFrom	string	National half-hour start time.
periodTo	string	National half-hour end time.
forecast	number	Forecast gCO2/kWh value.
actual	number	Actual gCO2/kWh value.
intensityIndex	string	Carbon intensity band (e.g., moderate, very low).
scrapedAt	string	UTC timestamp when the record was collected.
error	string	Detailed message captured if an issue occurs.

Input Options

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
mode	string	intensity	Set to intensity for national series, or regional for regional mix.
scope	string	national	Set to regional to target regional details.
regionId	integer	1	Region ID (1 to 17). Region 1 is North Scotland.
from	string	empty	Range start timestamp (ISO 8601 UTC). Required for national range queries.
to	string	empty	Range end timestamp (ISO 8601 UTC). Required for national range queries.
maxItems	integer	100	Maximum number of rows to save (hard cap at 1000).
timeoutSecs	integer	300	Overall execution limit in seconds.
requestTimeoutSecs	integer	30	Per-request timeout limit in seconds.

Example Inputs

National Intensity:

{
  "mode": "intensity",
  "scope": "national",
  "from": "2026-10-01T00:00Z",
  "to": "2026-10-02T00:00Z",
  "maxItems": 100,
  "timeoutSecs": 300,
  "requestTimeoutSecs": 30
}

Regional Mix:

{
  "mode": "regional",
  "regionId": 1,
  "maxItems": 100
}

How Limits and Pagination Work

National ranges are automatically processed in 14-day chunks to match maximum allowed single-request spans. Calls are paced gently to keep operations running smoothly, stopping as soon as your requested maxItems limit is reached.

If temporary connection glitches or server busy signals happen, automatic retries step in with sensible wait pauses before trying again. Bad inputs (like invalid region IDs) write a clear error row into your dataset without crashing the entire run. Duplicate records and identical region updates are automatically removed so your data stays clean.

FAQ

How many records can I save in one go?

The default limit is set to 100 rows, with a maximum cap of 1,000. Since a full day of national half-hourly periods comes out to 48 rows, a 1-day or 2-day historical extract fits comfortably within default settings.

What happens if I enter an invalid Region ID?

The actor records a single error row describing the issue and continues gracefully without failing your task.

Can I export my data to CSV or Excel?

Yes. Once your run completes, you can download your full dataset directly in JSON, CSV, or Excel formats.

Can I request historical dates for regional mix data?

Regional fetches pull the latest half-hourly figures available for your selected region ID. If you need historical carbon intensity trends over time, use the national mode with from and to date parameters.

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Trademark Notice

UK Carbon Intensity and related names, logos, and trademarks belong to their respective owners. Reference to these names is strictly for identification purposes and does not imply sponsorship, endorsement, or formal partnership.

Disclaimer & Legal Guidelines

This scraper is an independent data extraction tool. Users are responsible for complying with applicable terms of use, data protection guidelines, and attribution requirements when utilizing exported datasets.

Is Data Extraction Legal?

This tool collects publicly accessible carbon footprint data without bypassing access controls. Extracting public figures is standard practice, but consider these guidelines when working with extracted data:

• Personal Data: This tool purely handles environmental grid measurements and contains no personal data or personal identifiers.
• Copyright & Licensing: Always cite carbon grid figures properly if publishing findings, reports, or dashboards publicly.
• Usage Rules: Be mindful of request rates and avoid overloading data infrastructure.
• Legal Advice: Information provided here serves as practical guidance, not formal legal advice.