Have you ever been curious about where the electricity you use in your home comes from? More and more people are aware of the environment and energy consumption plays a fundamental role. We are not always aware of how having the lights always on can cause a global climate impact. For this reason, they have created an interactive map that shows it to us.
According to a United Nations report, the energy supply sector is responsible for 35% of global emissions. It is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions worldwide and not everyone knows it. Sometimes, we leave the light on in the living room, hallway and bedroom, even though no one is there, or we spend the day with the television on, without being aware of what is behind our energy consumption.
Electricity Maps is an open source project that seeks to raise awareness about this. This tool invites us to know in real time the origin of the electricity we consume in our homes. To provide the information we see on the map, the developers used official data and advanced predictions based on it.
The map takes into account the carbon emissions intensity of each analyzed region. In the case of Spain, it only has data at a general level on the peninsula and divided into the islands. But in the United States it divides the information by state and, in Russia, it also has different results. Although we would like them to be more specific within our borders, the truth is that the conclusions are favorable for peninsular Spaniards. On the islands, we still have room to improve.
What is the electricity we consume in Spain like?
Inside the mapthe Iberian Peninsula is green, which is good news. As indicated on the website, the color of each zone represents the amount of greenhouse gases emitted for each unit of electricity consumed. In principle, the greener it is, the more respectful that region is with the climate. On the contrary, the redder or browner it is, the more negative climate impact it generates.
If we go into detail about the data for Spain, we emit 83 gCO₂eq/kWh (grams of carbon dioxide equivalent emitted per kilowatt-hour of electricity consumed). This is the carbon intensity calculated by Electricity Maps, which measures the CO₂ emissions of an area (in this case Spain) that are associated with the production of energy that is spent.
As indicated by the latest data collected at the time of writing this article, the electricity consumed in Spain is 89% low in emissions and 72% is renewable. The part of peninsular Spain is very well positioned on the world map, occupying position number 32. However, the situation is different in the Spanish islands, reaching La Gomera at number 224, right at the bottom of the list. world of countries analyzed by Electricity Maps.
In the Balearic and Canary Islands
In the Balearic Islands, the best positioned is Ibiza, yellow in color, with 273 gCO₂eq/kWh, 55% low emissions and 51% renewable. Then, we have Mallorca, also in yellow, with 281 gCO₂eq/kWh, 54% low emissions and 49% renewable. And finally, Menorca, which is in orange, 483 gCO₂eq/kWh, 57% low emissions and 57% renewable.
In the Canary Islands, the situation regarding the origin of the energy consumed is worse. First of all, we have Tenerife (696 gCO₂eq/kWh); Second place goes to Gran Canaria (737 gCO₂eq/kWh); and in third position is Fuerteventura and Lanzarote (758 gCO₂eq/kWh). Next, there is La Palma, with 821 gCO₂eq/kWh. Iron follows, with 894 gCO₂eq/kWh. And the worst position in terms of carbon intensity is La Gomera, which accumulates 982 gCO₂eq/kWh.
