Is the Scottish grid green right now?
South Scotland's electricity grid is often one of the greenest in Great Britain, thanks to the amount of wind on the SP Distribution network that covers Stirling, Falkirk, the Forth Valley and the wider Central Belt. The live figure below shows exactly how clean the grid is this half hour, and a 48-hour forecast highlights the greenest time to charge your EV or home battery.
Live carbon intensity for the South Scotland region (SP Distribution — the Central Belt), updated every half hour from official National Grid / NESO data.
Right now in South Scotland
It's a good time to charge an EV or a home battery from the grid right now. Renewables are supplying 81.6% of South Scotland's electricity (wind alone: 81.3%), with 100% low-carbon in total.
That's 26 points more renewable than the GB grid right now (55.8% renewable across GB).
Greenest hour in the next 48 hours
Tomorrow 14:00–15:00
Forecast at about 89% renewable and about as clean as the grid gets. Good window to charge the car or fill the battery.
Next 48 hours (every 2 hours)
| When (UK) | Level | Renewables | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| Today 20:00 | very low | 81.6% | 81.6% |
| Today 22:00 | very low | 82.1% | 82.1% |
| Tomorrow 00:00 | very low | 81.6% | 81.6% |
| Tomorrow 02:00 | very low | 81.9% | 81.9% |
| Tomorrow 04:00 | very low | 83.9% | 83.9% |
| Tomorrow 06:00 | very low | 85.3% | 85.3% |
| Tomorrow 08:00 | very low | 87% | 86.1% |
| Tomorrow 10:00 | very low | 88.4% | 86.2% |
| Tomorrow 12:00 | very low | 88.7% | 85.4% |
| Tomorrow 14:00 | very low | 89% | 85.5% |
| Tomorrow 16:00 | very low | 88.7% | 86% |
| Tomorrow 18:00 | very low | 88.6% | 87.7% |
| Tomorrow 20:00 | very low | 88.5% | 88.5% |
| Tomorrow 22:00 | very low | 88.3% | 88.3% |
| Sat 00:00 | very low | 88.2% | 88.2% |
| Sat 02:00 | very low | 87.7% | 87.7% |
| Sat 04:00 | very low | 87% | 87% |
| Sat 06:00 | very low | 85.5% | 85.5% |
| Sat 08:00 | very low | 83.7% | 82.5% |
| Sat 10:00 | very low | 83.4% | 79.8% |
| Sat 12:00 | very low | 82.5% | 77.9% |
| Sat 14:00 | very low | 81.1% | 76.4% |
| Sat 16:00 | very low | 78.3% | 74.1% |
| Sat 18:00 | very low | 70% | 67.9% |
Last refreshed: 3 Sept 2026, 20:13. Live data from the official National Grid / NESO carbon intensity service. Figures are gCO₂ per kWh of electricity.
Why does this matter for solar, battery and EV owners?
If you have a home battery or an EV, you don't just consume electricity — you choose when to consume it. Charging during a low-carbon window means the energy you store or put in your car is genuinely greener, and on a time-of-use tariff it's usually cheaper too. The grid is dirtiest when gas plants are covering peak demand, and cleanest when wind is plentiful — which, in Scotland, is a lot of the time.
What is carbon intensity?
Carbon intensity is the amount of CO₂ emitted per unit of electricity, measured in grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour (gCO₂/kWh). A figure under ~100 gCO₂/kWh is very clean; over ~250 means gas is doing a lot of the work. The National Grid / NESO data rates each half hour on a five-band scale from very low to very high, which is the "Level" column in the table above.
Is Scotland really greener than the rest of the UK?
Often, yes. Scotland generates far more wind power than it consumes, so its regional grid routinely runs on a much higher share of renewables than Great Britain as a whole. The live comparison above shows South Scotland's renewable share against the GB-wide figure so you can see the gap for yourself, in real time — on a windy day it's common to see South Scotland well above 80% renewable while the GB grid is still leaning on gas.
How to use the forecast
The 48-hour table shows where the clean and dirty windows fall over the next two days. Pair it with a smart tariff and a battery or EV charger that lets you schedule charging, and you can automatically soak up the greenest, cheapest electricity. Our live Octopus tariff rates for Scotland page shows the matching price windows, and the energy independence score tool estimates how much of this you could shift off-grid entirely.
Want to make the most of Scotland's green grid?
We design and install MCS-certified solar, battery and EV charging systems across Central Scotland — so you can store the cheap, clean power and use it when the grid is dirtiest. Free, no-obligation quote.
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