Default emission factors

These are the default emission factors we use in case we don't have regional emission factors available.

Life-cycle emission factors (default)

Carbon-intensity factors used in the map are detailed in the following configuration file defaults.yaml. These numbers come mostly from the IPCC (2014) Fifth Assessment Report, which aggregates emission factors estimated by a multitude of peer-reviewed studies and is therefore recognised as the de-facto global standard for measuring the global warming potential of different electricity sources. The emission factors used for the map are computed through life-cycle analysis. Emissions resulting from the extraction of resources required to build up installed capacity, emissions from direct operations, and end-of-life related emissions are all accounted for.

Here is an overview of the life-cycle (default) emission factors used:

Mode	Emission factor (gCO2eq/kWh)	Category	Source
battery discharge	301	Renewable (default)	World average intensity by Electricity Maps
biomass	230	Renewable	IPCC 2014
coal	820	Fossil	IPCC 2014
gas	490	Fossil	IPCC 2014
geothermal	38	Renewable	IPCC 2014
hydro	24	Renewable	IPCC 2014
hydro discharge	301	Renewable (default)	World average intensity by Electricity Maps
nuclear	12	Low-carbon	IPCC 2014
oil	650	Fossil	UK Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology
solar	45	Renewable	IPCC 2014
unknown	700	Fossil	Assumes thermal (coal, gas, oil)
wind	11	Renewable	IPCC 2014

Operational emission factors

For some commercial purposes on the API, we also support operational emission factors. These emission factors only account for emissions that directly result from the operation of a given electricity source. For example, the combustion of gas in gas power plants directly releases greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, while the photovoltaic effect that powers solar cells does not.

Here is an overview of the default emission factors used:

Mode	Emission factor (gCO2eq/kWh)	Category	Source
battery discharge	TBD	Renewable (default)	World average intensity by Electricity Maps
biomass	0	Renewable	BEIS 2021
coal	760	Fossil	IPCC 2014
gas	370	Fossil	IPCC 2014
geothermal	0	Renewable	IPCC 2014
hydro	0	Renewable	IPCC 2014
hydro discharge	TBD	Renewable (default)	World average intensity by Electricity Maps
nuclear	0	Low-carbon	IPCC 2014
oil	406	Fossil	EIA 2020/BEIS 2021
solar	0	Renewable	IPCC 2014
unknown	575	Fossil	Assumes thermal (coal, gas, oil)
wind	0	Renewable	IPCC 2014