GB emissions from the power and heat sector

This post explores what power stations produce the most emissions in GB, where they are and how GB emissions compare to other European countries. Using data from the Carbon Monitoring for Action (CARMA) website power plants can be placed on a map and their emissions plotted.  The dataset contains information on 60,000 worldwide power stations including name, location, ownership, production and CO2 emissions.

The map below, made using ArcGIS, shows the situation across GB. The map demonstrates that GB power generation is dominated by a few very large power stations. Of those, DRAX is by far the worst polluter, emitting over twice as much CO₂ as the next level of classification (all of the other labelled power stations).  To put this in context, Europe only contains a few power stations emitting similar levels of CO₂ (three in Germany, one in Poland and one in Serbia) and DRAX is within the top ten highest emitting power plants in the world.  Although of course this may be misleading as there could be many smaller plants emitting more CO₂ per unit of energy produced within and electricity system. Spatially the map shows that the number of plants in London is unusual (probably as a result of population density).  There are a large number of plant in the middle of the country with a fairly even distribution elsewhere.

 

The next maps show the UK’s emissions from the power sector in relation to the rest of Europe using data from the World Bank on 2013 emissions. The first map shows that the UK is still operating a dirty energy system, particularly in comparison to Scandinavian countries. Only Germany produces significantly more emissions.  Again this could be misleading – a more effective measure is emissions per person (an alternative to energy intensity which is emissions per unit of energy).

The last map shows this metric, calculated using population data from Eurostat.  This shows a very different picture, improving the UK’s position in Europe.  Now Estonia can be seen as having the highest emissions.  Poland and Germany are still performing poorly, joined by the Czech Republic, Serbia, Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina (unmarked).  The Scandinavian countries now look less good whilst France (through Nuclear power), Latvia, Albania and Iceland have very low per capita emissions.