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UK Electricity Generation Map

(www.energydashboard.co.uk)
173 points zeristor | 15 comments | 03 Sep 25 10:49 UTC | HN request time: 0.509s | source | bottom
1. nonethewiser ◴[03 Sep 25 13:03 UTC] No.45115215[source]▶
Solar has a count of 1354 out of a total of 3047. So 44%.

Solar accounts for ~5% of the actual output per https://www.iea.org/countries/united-kingdom/electricity and https://www.renewableuk.com/news-and-resources/press-release...

edit: change source from https://grid.iamkate.com/

replies(8): >>45115251 #>>45115313 #>>45115327 #>>45115571 #>>45115583 #>>45115977 #>>45118588 #>>45118805 #
2. alkonaut ◴[03 Sep 25 13:06 UTC] No.45115251[source]▶
How is that surprising?
replies(1): >>45115287 #
3. nonethewiser ◴[03 Sep 25 13:08 UTC] No.45115287[source]▶
Its not. Why do you ask?
replies(1): >>45115348 #
4. ◴[03 Sep 25 13:10 UTC] No.45115313[source]▶
5. pixelesque ◴[03 Sep 25 13:11 UTC] No.45115327[source]▶
Huge offshore wind farms with hundreds of turbines are counted as single counts in this map though, so it's not really a compareable thing I don't think.
replies(1): >>45120227 #
6. alkonaut ◴[03 Sep 25 13:13 UTC] No.45115348{3}[source]▶
or interesting? I mean, why did you point it out? Wasn't it roughly what one would think/expect?
7. tobylane ◴[03 Sep 25 13:31 UTC] No.45115571[source]▶
I see 16% now, and my own panels have jumped up to 400w since your comment, with a peak of 1500 earlier today. https://imgur.com/a/HOX6YJu

While domestic installations are counted, they aren't in OP's link. https://www.projectsolaruk.com/blog/latest-uk-solar-photovol...

replies(1): >>45116344 #
8. maxmcd ◴[03 Sep 25 13:32 UTC] No.45115583[source]▶
I think this is the comparable view: https://www.energydashboard.co.uk/live
9. mytailorisrich ◴[03 Sep 25 14:05 UTC] No.45115977[source]▶
It's the British weather.

Today there is an Atlantic storm so most the the country is grey but with sunny periods and windy.

In the depth of winter, solar only makes a contribution 3-4 hours per day, which kills the annual average.

10. nonethewiser ◴[03 Sep 25 14:35 UTC] No.45116344[source]▶
Thanks for pointing that out - I guess I was a bit hasty with that source. It's not showing quite what I thought it was. Live data and percentages which can total more than 100%. Here is a better one that shows in 2023 solar was 4.7% of the overall electricity mix. And another source showing 5.2% in 2024.

[0] https://www.iea.org/countries/united-kingdom/electricity

[1] https://www.renewableuk.com/news-and-resources/press-release...

replies(1): >>45119714 #
11. ZeroGravitas ◴[03 Sep 25 17:47 UTC] No.45118588[source]▶
Yep, it's amazing how modular solar is. It's probably one of the biggest factors driving it down the cost curve and making it the primary source of energy for the human race going forward.

You can buy single panels from the supermarket and plug them in on your balcony! That's amazing.

And that modularity directly drives the competition which reduces the prices of the modules themselves and the many competing solar farms at many different scales racing to connect to the grid and delivering on or under budget on cost and time.

What a time to be alive.

replies(1): >>45120463 #
12. toomuchtodo ◴[03 Sep 25 18:10 UTC] No.45118805[source]▶
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/solar-photovoltaics...

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2025/08/28/strongest-year-on-rec...

13. Retric ◴[03 Sep 25 19:46 UTC] No.45119714{3}[source]▶
So presumably ~6% in 2025, that seems excessive as the UK is such a horrible location for solar. However at such a low percentage across so many locations there’s no need for storage, minimal transmission losses, etc which presumably means it’s not actually a bad idea.
14. hopelite ◴[03 Sep 25 20:45 UTC] No.45120227[source]▶
What would be the point of that? It seems to be by complex. You would not count every single generator separately at a hydro plant, would you? Every single solar panel?
15. marcosscriven ◴[03 Sep 25 21:13 UTC] No.45120463[source]▶
I think another way of saying this is “commoditisation”.