Generation
Checks on this page
Each feed is judged by the age of its newest data against its own timetable: “late” means the last check found nothing newer. Settlement period now: SP–.
The GB mix changes every five minutes as fuels are dispatched against demand and price. This page shows what is running now, the mix over time back to 2016, wind against its forecast, and the records.
A century of generation: Electricity since 1920
Generation by fuel type
FUELINST · 5-minLast 24 hours
Half-hourly outturnWind — outturn vs forecast
FUELHH vs WINDFORWind paid to stop
4.7% of the transmission-connected wind Britain could have generated on Thursday 8 October was paid to stop: 13.8 GWh of 293.6 GWh.
Records
Daily figures since 2016Every figure is a whole-day average unless it says otherwise, taken from this site’s own daily record — 3,934 days, 2016-01-01 to 2026-10-08. Days the feed did not finish are excluded, so a short day cannot take a record it only appears to hold.
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Wind
Most wind in a day 16,904MW25 March 2026 Its highest single half hour was 18,439 MW, on 18 February 2026.Wind's biggest share of demand 74.3%19 September 2026 15,228 MW of 20,484 MW.First day wind out-generated gas 25 December 2016 Across the whole day, on average. It has happened many times since. -
Solar
Most solar in a day 5,516MW9 July 2026 Averaged 8,009 MW through its 16.5 hours of daylight, the most for the light it had too. Estimated, not metered.Solar's biggest share of demand 29.1%12 July 2026 5,386 MW of 18,516 MW. -
Demand
Highest demand in a day 40,593MW12 December 2017 The highest single half hour was 50,469 MW, on 5 December 2016.Lowest demand in a day 16,490MW25 May 2025 -
Carbon
Cleanest day 38gCO₂/kWh5 April 2024Most carbon-intense day 435gCO₂/kWh27 February 2018 -
Coal
Last day coal generated in quantity 30 September 2024 Ratcliffe-on-Soar, Britain's last coal station, closed that month. The feed has carried traces on 8 days since — none above 198 MW in any half hour — which is metering residue rather than a station running.
About these figures
Why no two sources agree on GB generation · the “Other” row
⚠ Why no two sources agree on “GB generation”
There is no single figure for how much electricity Great Britain is generating. There are several, all correct, thousands of megawatts apart, because each draws its boundary in a different place.
Metered generation is what the transmission system can see: large stations that settle through the Balancing Mechanism. It has the best provenance, and it leaves out a great deal of real electricity.
Embedded generation is connected to the local distribution networks instead — rooftop and field solar above all, plus smaller wind and gas. The transmission system never meters it; it sees only the demand that did not appear. So embedded output has to be estimated, and this page marks every estimated figure as one.
Interconnector flows count as generation when GB is importing and as demand when it is exporting, which is why they change sign.
The mix on this page is metered generation, plus estimated embedded solar, plus net imports: what is actually available to use in GB. A source quoting a smaller figure has probably drawn its boundary at the transmission system; one quoting a larger figure may be counting capacity, not output. Neither is wrong. They answer different questions.
“Other” is a residual
Elexon publishes a category called OTHER and does not say what is in it. It is small and real, but the published data cannot attribute it, so this page shows it as its own row rather than spreading it across the fuels it might contain. Splitting it would make the table look more complete and every number in it less true.
How figures are marked. A figure with no mark is measured; an estimate is hatched; a forecast is dashed. A total or a share with the solar estimate inside it says so: incl. est. solar.
More in the methodology: embedded solar, and why it is drawn differently →