Watch this custom-made time lapse video showing the Electricity map for the period of October 2016 to September 2017 covering every hour of every day.

 

In high speed, it reveals interesting details on European climate performance:

 

• France, Norway and Sweden have constantly low emissions per kWh over the whole year. There isn’t even any flicker in their green.

• Norway is constantly green since its consumption is mainly abundant  hydropower. 

• France and Sweden remain green all year round. What do they have in common? They both decided some decades ago after the oil crisis in the 1970’s and also for environmental reasons to eliminate nearly all fossil fuels for electricity generation and use nuclear power.

• For other countries, their carbon intensity fluctuates depending mostly on weather with the increasing use of variable renewables and the choice they made for the intermittent backup.

• Switzerland changes colour from bright green (showing below 100 gCO2eq/kWh) to sometimes brownish color (up to 500 gCO2eq/kWh), depending on how much electricity is imported from its “dirtier” neighbour in the north, Germany.

• Notice the seasonal changes as northern European countries use more power, and have less sunshine.