🌍 UK Carbon Intensity Scraper

🚀 Export the UK National Grid's live carbon intensity feed in seconds. Real-time and forecast gCO2/kWh for every 30-minute slot, regional breakdowns across 14 GB Distribution Network Operator regions, postcode lookups, and per-fuel generation mix. No sign-up.

🕒 Last updated: 2026-05-15 · 📊 15 fields per record · 🌍 14 GB DNO regions + national · ⚡ 30-minute time slots · 🟢 Live every half-hour

The UK Carbon Intensity Scraper exports the official National Grid ESO Carbon Intensity feed and returns 15 fields per record, including forecast and actual gCO2/kWh, the human-readable intensity index (very low / low / moderate / high / very high), 14 regional breakdowns, postcode-level intensity, and per-fuel generation mix. The Carbon Intensity feed is the canonical reference for measuring grid carbon in Great Britain and powers smart-tariff providers, demand-response apps, and academic decarbonization research.

The catalogue covers every 30-minute slot with national, regional (per GB Distribution Network Operator region), and postcode-level views, plus forecast windows up to 48 hours ahead and historical statistics back through the start of the feed. This Actor makes the data downloadable as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML in under a minute.

🎯 Target Audience	💡 Primary Use Cases
Smart-energy startups, EV charging apps, sustainability teams, climate researchers, demand-response platforms, journalism teams, ESG analysts	Carbon-aware computing, smart-tariff billing, EV-charging timing, ESG dashboards, demand-response triggers, academic decarbonization research

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📋 What the UK Carbon Intensity Scraper does

Eight data modes in a single Actor:

• ⚡ Current half-hour (national). The latest 30-minute slot, with forecast and actual gCO2/kWh.
• 🕒 Past 24 hours (national). 48 half-hourly observations.
• 📅 Custom date range (national). Up to a 14-day window.
• 🗺️ Regional breakdown. 14 GB Distribution Network Operator regions plus aggregates for England, Scotland, and Wales.
• 📮 Postcode lookup. Outcode-level (e.g. SW1A, M1, EH1) intensity and per-fuel mix.
• 🔌 Generation mix (national). Per-fuel percentages for the current half-hour (gas, coal, biomass, nuclear, hydro, imports, solar, wind).
• 📊 Emission factors. gCO2/kWh per fuel type used in the methodology.
• 📈 Intensity statistics. Min, max, and average across a chosen period.

💡 Why it matters: carbon-aware decisions need real-time grid data. Building your own pipeline means tracking a half-hourly feed and reconciling regional fuel mixes. This Actor skips all of that and emits one clean record per slot.

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🎬 Full Demo

🚧 Coming soon: a 3-minute walkthrough showing carbon-aware EV charging triggered by Slack.

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⚙️ Input

Input	Type	Default	Behavior
maxItems	integer	10	Records to return. Free plan caps at 10, paid plan at 1,000,000.
mode	string	"current"	Data slice (current, past-24h, date-range, regional, postcode, generation-mix, factors, stats).
startDate, endDate	string	""	YYYY-MM-DD or full ISO timestamp. Required for date-range mode (max 14 days).
regionFilter	string	"all"	Restrict to one of 14 GB DNO regions plus England, Scotland, and Wales aggregates.
postcode	string	""	UK outcode such as SW1A, M1, EH1, CF10 for postcode mode.
includeGenerationMix	boolean	true	Include per-fuel generation mix on regional and postcode records.

Example: current national half-hour with generation mix.

{
    "maxItems": 1,
    "mode": "current"
}

Example: London regional intensity with fuel mix.

{
    "maxItems": 1,
    "mode": "regional",
    "regionFilter": "13",
    "includeGenerationMix": true
}

⚠️ Good to Know: the National Grid ESO carbon intensity feed updates on the half-hour boundary. Forecast values cover slots up to 48 hours ahead; actual values are filled once the slot closes. Regional breakdowns use the 14 GB Distribution Network Operator regions plus England, Scotland, and Wales aggregates.

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📊 Output

Each record contains 15 fields. Download the dataset as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML.

🧾 Schema

Field	Type	Example
🕒 from	ISO 8601	"2026-05-15T18:00Z"
🕒 to	ISO 8601	"2026-05-15T18:30Z"
📊 forecastGCO2PerKwh	number | null	142
📊 actualGCO2PerKwh	number | null	139
🚦 intensityIndex	string | null	"moderate"
🆔 regionId	number | null	13
📍 regionName	string | null	"London"
🏢 dnoOperator	string | null	"UK Power Networks"
🏷️ shortName	string | null	"London"
📦 generationMix	array | null	[{ "fuel": "gas", "perc": 41.2 }, ...]
🏷️ fuel	string | null	"gas"
🏷️ fuelLabel	string | null	"Natural Gas"
📊 percentage	number | null	41.2
📂 scope	string	"national", "regional", "postcode", "generation-mix", "factors", "stats"
🕒 scrapedAt	ISO 8601	"2026-05-15T18:32:11.000Z"

📦 Sample records

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✨ Why choose this Actor

	Capability
⚡	30-minute granularity. Every half-hour slot of the GB grid.
🌍	Regional + postcode. 14 GB Distribution Network Operator regions plus outcode-level lookups.
🔌	Per-fuel mix. Gas, coal, biomass, nuclear, hydro, imports, solar, wind.
📅	Forecast + actual. Forecast covers slots up to 48 hours ahead, actuals fill in once the slot closes.
📊	Eight data modes. From current half-hour to multi-day stats from one Actor.
⚡	Fast. A 24-hour national pull completes in under 10 seconds.
🚫	No sign-up. Works against the public National Grid Carbon Intensity feed.

📊 The Carbon Intensity feed underpins smart-tariff providers, EV-charging schedulers, and academic decarbonization research across the UK.

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📈 How it compares to alternatives

Approach	Cost	Coverage	Refresh	Filters	Setup
⭐ UK Carbon Intensity Scraper (this Actor)	$5 free credit, then pay-per-use	National + regional + postcode	Live every half-hour	mode, region, postcode, generation mix	⚡ 2 min
Manual data feed downloads	Free	Same coverage	Manual	None	🐢 Hours
Smart-meter consumer dashboards	Free with provider	Personal usage	Live	None	🚫 Not bulk-friendly
Commercial energy data feeds	$1k+/month	Multi-grid	Live	Many	⏳ Integration

Pick this Actor when you want filtered, structured UK grid carbon data without writing a custom integration.

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🚀 How to use

1. 📝 Sign up. Create a free account with $5 credit (takes 2 minutes).
2. 🌐 Open the Actor. Go to the UK Carbon Intensity Scraper page on the Apify Store.
3. 🎯 Set input. Pick a mode (current, past-24h, regional, postcode, etc.) and any filters.
4. 🚀 Run it. Click Start and let the Actor pull the live feed.
5. 📥 Download. Grab your results in the Dataset tab as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML.

⏱️ Total time from signup to downloaded carbon dataset: 3-5 minutes. No coding required.

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💼 Business use cases

🔌 Smart Energy & Tariffs Bill smart-tariff customers by half-hourly carbon intensity Trigger smart-meter device actions on low-carbon slots Offer carbon-aware EV charging windows Provide demand-response signals to industrial loads	🚗 EV Charging & Mobility Schedule charge sessions during low-intensity slots Surface "greenest time to charge" in mobile apps Build carbon-aware fleet-charging schedulers Calculate per-trip carbon for EV journey planners
📊 ESG, Sustainability & Reporting Generate scope-2 emissions disclosures with grid factors Build sustainability dashboards by region Audit corporate energy consumption against grid carbon Power CDP and TCFD reporting workflows	🔬 Climate Research & Journalism Track decarbonization progress over years Compare regional fuel mixes for academic studies Power public-interest dashboards on grid greening Investigate seasonal coal and gas patterns

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🔌 Automating UK Carbon Intensity Scraper

Control the scraper programmatically for scheduled runs and pipeline integrations:

• 🟢 Node.js. Install the apify-client NPM package.
• 🐍 Python. Use the apify-client PyPI package.
• 📚 See the Apify documentation for full details.

The Apify Schedules feature lets you trigger this Actor every 30 minutes to track every half-hour slot in real time, or daily to archive yesterday's grid history.

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🌟 Beyond business use cases

Grid-carbon data powers more than commercial workflows. The same structured records support research, education, civic projects, and personal initiatives.

🎓 Research and academia Decarbonization studies across regions and seasons Replicate published carbon-aware computing papers Teach energy-systems courses with real grid data Train ML models on half-hourly fuel mix dynamics	🎨 Personal and creative Build a personal "is the grid green right now" widget Visualize a year of UK grid carbon as data art Power a smart-home rule that runs the dishwasher when carbon is low Curate a hobbyist regional-comparison archive
🤝 Non-profit and civic Provide free carbon data to climate journalism collectives Score regional grid greening for advocacy briefs Support community-energy programmes with hyperlocal data Power civic dashboards on the energy transition	🧪 Experimentation Train a forecast-improvement model on actual versus forecast slots Validate carbon-aware computing schedulers Prototype a postcode-level carbon-aware app Test smart-home rules that respond to grid carbon

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🤖 Ask an AI assistant about this scraper

Open a ready-to-send prompt about this ParseForge actor in the AI of your choice:

• 💬 ChatGPT
• 🧠 Claude
• 🔍 Perplexity
• 🅒 Copilot

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❓ Frequently Asked Questions

🧩 How does it work?

Pick a mode (current, past-24h, date-range, regional, postcode, generation-mix, factors, stats), set any filters, and run. The Actor pulls the National Grid Carbon Intensity feed and writes one clean record per 30-minute slot.

📏 How accurate is the data?

Data mirrors the National Grid ESO Carbon Intensity feed exactly. Forecast values cover slots up to 48 hours ahead; actual values backfill once each slot closes. Methodology is documented by the National Grid ESO.

🔁 How fresh is the feed?

Live every 30 minutes. The grid publishes a new half-hourly slot on the boundary; back-to-back Actor runs return updated forecast and actual values.

🗺️ Which regions are covered?

The 14 GB Distribution Network Operator regions plus aggregates for England, Scotland, and Wales: North Scotland, South Scotland, North West England, North East England, Yorkshire, North Wales & Merseyside, South Wales, West Midlands, East Midlands, East England, South West England, South England, London, South East England.

📮 What postcode format does the lookup expect?

Use the UK outcode (the first part of a postcode), such as SW1A, M1, EH1, or CF10. The full postcode is not needed.

🔌 How is the generation mix structured?

Eight fuel types: gas, coal, biomass, nuclear, hydro, imports, solar, wind. Percentages sum to roughly 100% per slot.

⏰ Can I schedule regular runs?

Yes. Use Apify Schedules to refresh every 30 minutes (live), hourly, or daily.

⚖️ Is this data legal to use?

Yes. The National Grid ESO publishes the Carbon Intensity feed under permissive open-data terms. Attribution is encouraged.

💼 Can I use this data commercially?

Yes. The Carbon Intensity open-data license allows commercial use including in smart-tariff and EV-charging products.

💳 Do I need a paid Apify plan to use this Actor?

No. The free Apify plan is enough for testing and small runs (10 records per run). A paid plan lifts the limit and unlocks scheduling.

🆘 What if I need help?

Our support team is here to help. Contact us through the Apify platform or use the Tally form linked below.

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🔌 Integrate with any app

UK Carbon Intensity Scraper connects to any cloud service via Apify integrations:

• Make - Automate multi-step workflows
• Zapier - Connect with 5,000+ apps
• Slack - Push low-carbon alerts to channels
• Airbyte - Pipe carbon data into your warehouse
• GitHub - Trigger runs from commits and releases
• Google Drive - Export datasets straight to Sheets

You can also use webhooks to trigger downstream actions when a run finishes. Push fresh half-hourly carbon intensity into a smart-tariff billing system, or trigger an EV-charging session when the index turns very low.

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💡 Pro Tip: browse the complete ParseForge collection for more energy and UK-data scrapers.

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🆘 Need Help? Open our contact form to request a new scraper, propose a custom data project, or report an issue.

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⚠️ Disclaimer: this Actor is an independent tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by National Grid ESO or any of its affiliates. All trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. Only publicly available open-energy data is collected.