Electricity Map shows in real time how carbon intensive our electricity generation is here in the UK, across Europe and in select countries around the world, as well as the different sources we use. You will see some persistent green spots, like France and Sweden, use a lot of nuclear to keep emissions down!

The map was launched by Tomorrow in 2016, as part of its goal to builds tech that empowers people and organisations to understand and reduce their carbon footprint. Visit www.electricitymap.org/map to view the map.

Nuclear Energy is low carbon
Nuclear power makes a major contribution to meeting the UK’s energy security and carbon reduction objectives. The power generated by the current nuclear fleet avoids the emission of 49 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year – the equivalent of taking around 75% of Britain’s cars off the roads.

The safety and operation of these sites is regulated by the independent Office for Nuclear Regulation. They would not allow stations to continue operating unless they were absolutely confident they can do so safely.

The ONR regularly reports details on nuclear events which are reported to it. Many of the events are very minor and would pose no problems to the environment or people. Between 2001 and 2015 3,866 events were reported, with more than 99.7% of those events rated as very low significance.

Public support for nuclear energy, alongside other low carbon sources, has been strong for several years. In our annual NIA/YouGov poll, 72% of the public agree that nuclear needs to be part of the energy mix, compared to just 13% who disagree.

Nuclear comes first in the energy sources the public believe is needed to keep the lights on, but industry must not take this support for granted. The case for an expansion of low-carbon nuclear energy remains compelling, but public confidence in the safe operation of nuclear plants and the safety standards of the industry, must be maintained.

Carbon Floor Price
All electricity generators need to pay for the carbon produced and the Carbon Floor Price is a guaranteed minimum financial penalty for companies which release CO₂ emissions into the atmosphere.

The NIA believes a fair carbon price is important for decarbonisation and investment in future low carbon technologies and we believe a strong carbon price and access to a market-wide, technology neutral capacity mechanism will be critical factors.

PINC
The EU Commission is required to publish its Nuclear Illustrative Programme (PINC) to indicate targets for nuclear production and the corresponding investments to attain them. It’s most recent PINC was published in April 2016 and concludes that nuclear is expected to remain an important component of the EU’s energy mix in 2050 ‘as a low carbon technology and a significant contributor to security of supply and diversification’ and notes the ‘EU must maintain its technological leadership in the nuclear domain’. The NIA was disappointed there was no proposals included to encourage investment in nuclear new build.