Data sources

This is a list of primary data sources that are helpful for power system modeling of Europe. For other open data projects that collect or vizualize data see data projects.

The list is a work in progress; it is neither complete nor comprehensive. If you are missing something, please tell us. The list is considerably broader in scope than the OPSD data platform.

ENTSO-E Transparency, the central data platform of the European transmission system operators, provides a lot of data as required in EU regulation 543/2013. The database can be accessed through the website and several download options.

In practice, the confusing design and slow response times make the website hard to use and a lot of the data is missing. Documentation on what the data mean and on how to use the platform is inconsistent and scattered across multiple pages and documents. Some useful resources are:

The platform only features data for 2015-01-05 onwards.



1 Electricity consumption



The following sources provide electricity consumption or load by country. The time resolution varies between hours and years.

1.1 European load data

ENTSO-E Hourly Load Data is available through three different gateways:

  • ENTSO-E Data Portal (data up to 2015). Features a comparatively convenient download option (all countries in monthly data sheets), but was decommissioned at the end of 2016. Note that “hourly load values” are often inconsistent with “monthly consumption”. The difference is not fully captured by the “representativity factor“. It will be replaced by
  • ENTSO-E Power Statistics (data from 2016 onwards). Allows download only for one country per month.
  • ENTSO-E Transparency (data from 2015 onwards). With the limitations mentioned above.


Eurostat nrg_105m. Monthly electricity consumption for European countries.

IEA Monthly Electricity Statistics. Monthly electricity consumption for OECD member countries; methodology aligned with Eurostat.

1.2 German load data

AG Energiebilanzen. Yearly energy balances for Germany, including yearly electricity consumption by sector.

BDEW Strom-Kennzahlen. Monthly power consumption for Germany.

Statistisches Bundesamt. Monthly power consumption for Germany.

Load by balancing area. By TSOs Amprion, 50Hertz, TenneT, Transnet BW; hourly resolution.


2 Capacity and generation by technology



These sources provide information on aggregated installed capacity and generation by technology type. Capacity is typically provided by year; generation data is often provided by month. For hourly generation data see Transparency websites and Wind and solar power time series below. For plant-by-plant data see plant data below.

2.1 Installed capacity

IRENA RE Capacity Statistics. Installed renewable capacity since 2006 for all countries world-wide. PDF.

Eurostat nrg_113a. Click on the plus-sign next to the “Energy Indicator” drop-down menu to select more fuel types. Comprehensive coverage and xls/csv download option. Does not cover the most recent year.

Eurelectric Power Statistics. Freely accessible (ignore the price tag), somewhat outdated. However, to our knowledge this is the only comprehensive source of combined heat and power (CHP) data. PDF.

EurObserv’ER Database. Different renewables-related statistics covering all EU member countries.

EWEA European Statistics Archive. Installed wind power by country for each year since 2009. Several PDFs. Older reports are not linked, but still online, such as 2006.

SolarPower Europe (formerly EPIA). Does not seem to provide any data anymore besides the Global Market Outlook (registration required).

IEA PVPS. Global solar PV capacities dating back to 1992.

United Nations Statistics Division Energy Statistics Database. Annual capacity data.

ENTSO-E Net generation capacity. Annual capacity data 2014–present from the “Power Statistics”. 1994–2015 data can be found on the “Data Portal“.

ENTSO-E Statistical Factsheet. Annual data on installed capacity as well as generation and physical flows by technology and country 2009–2015. PDF files.

ENTSO-E mid-term Adequacy Forecast. (Formerly System Outlook and Adequacy Forecasts) Includes downloadable datasets of generation capacity (XLSX).

2.2 Generation

Eurostat nrg_105m. Monthly electricity generation for European countries. Click on the plus-sign next to the “Energy Indicator” drop-down menu to select fuel types. Comprehensive coverage and xls/csv download option. Does not cover the most recent year.

IEA Monthly electricity statistics. Monthly electricity generation since 2007 by fuel category for OECD member countries. User-friendly XLS-download of the entire dataset available.

ENTSO-E Production Data. Monthly generation by fuel type—more detailed fuel categories than the IEA.

ENTSO-E Inventory of Generation. Includes, inter alia, detailed hydro categories.

ENTSO-E Statistical Factsheet. Annual data on installed capacity as well as generation and physical flows by technology and country since 2009. PDF files.

BP Statistical Review. Annual generation data for many countries globally, some dating back to 1965.


2.3 National sources

CountryData typeSourceType of InstitutionDescriptionType of documentCoverage
ATAggregated capacitiese-controlRegulatory AuthorityEngpassleistung nach Kraftwerkstypen zum 31. Dezember 2014Statistics2013, 2014
BEList of generation unitsELIATransmission System OperatorOverview of Generating FacilitiesStatisticsactual
BGAggregated capacitiesTSO Bulgaria Transmission System OperatorGeneration CapacitiesReport2012
CHAggregated capacitiesBFEMinistrySchweizerische Elektrizitätsstatistik (Electricity statistics)Report1998-2014
CZAggregated capacitiesERURegulatory AuthorityYearly Report on OperationsReport2010-2014
DEAggregated capacitiesBMWiMinistryEnergiedaten (Energy Data)Statistics1990-2014
List of generation unitsBNetzARegulatory AuthorityList of Power Plants (>10 MW)Statisticsactual
List of generation unitsUBAEnvironmental AgencyKraftwerke in Deutschland (Power Plants in Germany, > 100 MW)Statisticsactual
DKAggregated capacitiesDEAEnergy AgencyAnnual Energy StatisticsStatistics2010-2013
EEAggregated capacitiesStatistics EstoniaNational Statistical OfficeCapacity and Production of Power PlantsStatistics1999-2014
ESAggregated capacitiesREETransmission System OperatorNational IndicatorsStatistics1990-2016
FIAggregated capacitiesStatistics FinlandNational Statistical OfficeCapacity of Electricity GenerationStatistics1970-2015
FRAggregated capacitiesRTETransmission System OperatorOverview of electrical energy in FranceReport & StatisticsMonthly
List of generation unitsRTETransmission System OperatorInstalled Capacity of UnitsStatisticsactual
GRAggregated capacitiesREARegulatory AuthorityNational Report 2012Report2012
HRAggregated capacitiesHOPSTransmission System OperatorBasic DataReport2009-2013
HUList of generation unitsMavirTransmission System OperatorPlanned Installed Generation CapacityReport2010-2014
IEList of generation unitsEirgridTransmission System OperatorAll-Island Generation Capacity StatementReport2012-2016
ITList of generation unitsTernaTransmission System OperatorInstalled Generation CapacityStatistics2010-2014
LTList of generation unitsLitgridTransmission System OperatorGeneration CapacitiesStatisticsactual
LUAggregated capacitiesILRRegulatory AuthorityCentrales de productions au LuxembourgStatistics2001-2014
LVAggregated capacitiesCentral Statistical Bureau of LatviaNational Statistical OfficeElectrical CapacityStatistics2007-2014
NLAggregated capacitiesTennetTransmission System OperatorInstalled Generation CapacityStatistics2011-2016
NOAggregated capacitiesMinistry of Petroleum and EnergyMinistryFacts: Energy and Water Resources in NorwayReport2013
Aggregated capacitiesMinistry of Petroleum and EnergyMinistryFacts: Energy and Water Resources in NorwayReport2015
PLAggregated capacitiesCIREEnergy Market Information CenterMoc zainstalowana (Installed Capacity)Statistics2014
PTAggregated capacitiesRENTransmission System OperatorTechnical DataReport2013, 2014
ROAggregated capacitiesAnre Regulatory AuthorityReportReport2013, 2014
SEAggregated capacitiesSvensk EnergiEnergy AgencyStatistics SwedenReport2013
SIAggregated capacitiesAgencija za energijoRegulatory AuthorityReport on the Energy Sector in SloveniaReport2011-2014
SKAggregated capacitiesStatistical Office of SlovakiaNational Statistical OfficeEnergy StatisticsReport2008-2014
UKAggregated capacitiesDepartment of Energy & Climate Change UKMinistryPlant CapacityStatistics2010-2014

 

3 Cross-border trade


ENTSO-E Exchange Data from ENSTO-E Data Portal. Monthly electricity trade between European countries. To be replaced by ENTSO-E Power Statistics.

ENTSO-E Incerconnector Data. Hourly physical flows, scheduled flows, and NTCs from 2011 to 2014—but be prepared for quite some work to clean up the files.

ENTSO-E Statistical Factsheet. Annual data on installed capacity as well as generation and physical flows by technology and country since 2009. PDF files.

CASC flow-based market coupling data. Available transfer capacity, price spreads, and other data.


4 Power plant data



This section provides information by power plant. For installed capacity aggregated by technology see Installed capacity above.

4.1 Germany

BNetzA Anlagenregister: PV and other renewables. Renewable power plants, provided by Bundesnetzagentur.

Netztransparenz. Renewable power plants, provided by the four German TSO’s. See also 50Hertz, Amprion, TenneT, and TransnetBW, which individually provide data on renewable power plants. Reportings are discontinued since mid/end 2014. EnergyMap (see Data Projects) aggregates and processes the data.

BNetzA Kraftwerksliste. German power plants, collected by the regulators. Downloadable as CSV/XLS.

BNetzA List of pow­er plant clo­sure no­ti­fi­ca­tions German power plants scheduled for final or temporary shutdown or mothballing, collected by the regulators. Downloadable as CSV.

UBA Kraftwerksliste. By Umweltbundesamt, XLS.

BDEW: projects. Planned power plants, only as PDF.

4.2 Other European countries

BE ELIA. Belgium power plant list, downloadable as XLS.

CH Schweizerischer Wasserkraftverband. Swiss hydro power plants. More data: Hydro Geodata, Hydro Excel ZIP, Nuclear Geodata.

CZ CEPS

DE AT CH EEX Transparency. Provides geographic information for some power plants.

DE, NO Hydro power plants of renpass. The open source simulation energy model renpass (Renewable Energy Pathways Simulation System) includes a detailed register of hydropower plants, pump storage, and reservoirs. You can find the data in the renpass MySQL database. Last update 2014.

ES Spanish Industry and Energy Ministry. Spanish power plants. Distinguishes between ordinary power plants and those under the feed-in tariff scheme (“regimen especial”).

FR RTE. Power plants >100MW, downloadable as XLS.

GB DECC. Power plant list and other relevant data, downloadable as XLS.

GB National Grid: Projects. Planned power plants.

IE Single Electricity Market Committee (SEM). PLEXOS Forecast Model for 2016–17 for Ireland., including input data (thermal generator characteristic, hourly wind profiles and hourly demand profiles).

IT TERNA. Italian power plants. The English version is outdated.

NL TenneT. Dutch power plants.

4.3. America

US United States Wind Turbine Database (USWTDB). Location data and technical information on Wind Turbines in the US.

4.3. Global datasets

Global Power Plant Database
Collaboration led by WRI that maintains a comprehensive, open source database of power plants around the world. Each power plant is geolocated and entries contain information on plant capacity, generation, ownership, and fuel type. As of April 2018, the database includes around 25,500 power plants from 162 countries.

Global Energy Observatory. The Global Energy Observatory (GEO) lists powerplants by country and fuel type. It covers 40–95% of installed capacity of European countries (self-reported).

industryAbout. Global list of powerplants.

Wikipedia. List of power plants. Data can be extracted using DBpedia.

4.4 Renewable power plants in Europe

An extended version of the following table with more information is available for download (XLSX).

CountryPlant TypesRestrictions SourceDirect linkPrecise location dataUpdates
ATAll-STATISTIK AUSTRIANoAnnual
Hydro, thermal, windVerbund power plants only, detailed data without gapsVerbundNoUnclear
Hydro, biomass, district heatingTIWAG power plants onlyTIWAGdetailed info for large plantsNoUnclear
BEWind, biogas, biomass, hydroFlanders onlyVREGPower plant listPostcodeProbably annual
SolarFlanders onlyVREGSolar statistics FlandersNoProbably annual
All-ELIANoAnnual
WindELIANoSeveral times a month
SolarELIANoSeveral times a month
BGAll-Statistical Institute of BulgariaEnergy balanceNoAnnual
CHWind-Wind-data.chNoMonthly
Wind-Swiss confederationAvailableUnclear
HydroPlants > 3 MWSwiss water management associationNoUnclear, probably annual
Hydro-Swiss confederationAvailableUnclear
SolarData could be incorrect or incompleteSolar.chNoAnnual until 2013
SolarAggregate national data onlyFederal office of EnergyNoAnnual
Wind, solar, biomass, hydro-Federal office of EnergyPostcode (+ street for units > 30 MW)Annual
CZWind>100 MW plants only, no information on completenessCzech Society for Wind EnergyNoUnclear
WindPlants ≤ 5MWCzech Energy Agency for RenewableAvailableUnclear
Windnot up to date, discontinuedCallaAvailableNone
Hydroplants < 1 MWCzech Energy Agency for RenewableAvailableUnclear
HydroNot up to date CallaNoNone
SolarNot up to date Elektrarny.proNoUnclear
SolarIncompleteCzech Energy Agency for RenewableAvailableUnclear
SolarNot up to date CallaNoNone
Biogas-Czech Energy Agency for RenewableAvailableUnclear
BiogasNot up to date CallaNoNone
DKWindScattered data may be missing or inaccurateensChartUTMMonthly
Solar-Energienet.dkChartNoAnnual
Solar-Energienet.dkChartPostcodeUnclear
EEAllCapacity not available for most power sourcesStatistical office EstoniaNoAnnual
Wind-Estonian Wind energy associationNoUnclear
AllEstonian Energy plants onlyEstonian EnergyNoUnclear
ELAll-Regulatory authority for EnergyChartsNoUnclear
ESWindInstallations since 2001Government of AragonChartNoAnnual
WindData for AragonGovernment of AragonNoAnnual
SolarData for AragonGovernment of AragonChartNoAnnual
HydroMajor plants onlyIBERDROLANoUnclear
FIWindNo small systemsVTTPublic statisticPostcodeAnnual
AllNo private or small power plantsEnergy Agency FinlandChartPostcodeProbably as needed
FRWind-MEDDEStatisticsNoThree times a year
Solar-MEDDEStatisticsNoThree times a Year
Biogas, solid biomass, waste, wind, geothermal, hydropower, solar by departementData subject to purchase obligation from 2000 onlyMEDDEStatisticsNoAnnual
Biomass, wind, geothermal, hydro, solar by municipalityData subject to purchase obligation from 2000 onlyMEDDEStatisticsNoAnnual
HRAll-HEP GroupStatistics (p.25)NoAnnual
HUWind-Hungarian Wind energy associationChartNoProbably annual
Solar-NV SolarNoUnclear
IEWindWind farms only, outdatedSeaiChartNoNo regular publication
Hydro-Irish hydro power associationNoUnclear
ITWind-AtlaventoNoProbably annual
Solar-AtlasoleNoProbably annual
LIHydro, biogas, solar-Statistical officeEnergy statistic (chart 6)NoAnnual
LUWind, biogas, solar, hydroEnovos group plants only, including foreign plantsEnovos groupNoUnclear
MKAll-Macedonian Energy AgencyNoUnclear
NLWindAll Dutch wind projects are listedWind statistics NLAvailableUnclear
All-Central Bureau of StatisticsNoAnnual
NOWindLarge plants onlyNVEDocumentNoAnnual
Wind, hydro -NVEGeodataAvailableProbably annual
PLAll- Polish Information and Foreign Investment AgencyStatisticsNoProbably annual
PTWindOnly data from the projectENEOPNoUnclear
ROAllNo individual data available, after 2009 only small hydropower plantsTranselectricaDocumentNoUnclear
AllNo individual data, after 2009 only small hydropower plantsTranselectricaDocumentNoUnclear
SKHydro-Slovak ElektraneDocumentNoUnclear
Biogas, biomass, solar, wind, hydroData are outdatedEnergy Centre BratislavaDocumentAvailableUnclear
SolarIncompleteEnergieportal.skNoUnclear
SISolarSlovenian pv portalNoUnclear
SEWind>3 MW turbines onlyVindstat.comStatisticsNoMonthly
UKAnaerobic digestion, hydro, micro CHP, other, solar, wind-Department of Energy & climate changeStatisticsNoAnnual
VariousWindNo information of completeness, no small plantsWindpower.netAvailableUnclear

5 Hydro power data



Hydro power modelling requires specific data, such as water in-flow into reservoirs. Moreover, statistics are often reported in a different granularity than other statistics, such as week-by-week.

5.1 Nordic region

NO NVE. Norwegian hydro power reservoir levels by week (Norwegian). For more information and data see NVE’s English website.

SE Svensk Energi. Swedish hydro power data (Swedish). XLS-download requires registration.

SE Svenska Kraftät. Hourly generation data (Swedish).

FI Finnish Energy. Monthly hydro power generation in Finland (Finnish).


5.2 Alps region

FR eaufrance. Day-by-day river flow data (French).

FR RTE. Aggregated French hydro power reservoir levels by week.

CH Hydropower statistics and Geodata. Excel and PDF files with detailed data on hydro stations in Switzerland.

CH Hydro runoff data. River runoff data for Swiss hydrological network.


6 Price data



6.1 Spot

Energinet.dk. Fabulous website of the Danish TSO, providing day-ahead spot prices for DE/AT, NO, SE, DK (all bidding zones), dating back to 2002.

OMIE. Extensive archive of Spanish and Portugese price and market data.

EXAA. Spot price data for DE/AT from the Energy Exchange Austria from 2002 to today.

Power Exchanges. EPEX (DE/AT, FR, CH, NL, UK) and Nordpool (NO, SE, DK, FI) provide price data, but they charge for data access.


6.2 Balancing

DE Regelleistung.net. German and Dutch tendering plattform. Expect messy data files! See analysis slides.

DE Imbalance Price (Amprion). Since 2008, the German TSOs charge a uniform imbalance price for deviations from schedules. Also from 50Hertz. See article.

DE Activation (50Hertz). Activation of secondary control in Germany (Netzregelverbund) and Europe (IGCC), starting in 2010.

GB Imbalance Price (Elexon). The UK has a two-price system, featuring the System Sell Price (SSP) and the System Buy Price (SBP). Elexon provides price data via the Balancing Mechanism Reporting System. See guidance.

UCTE Network frequency. Time series from RTE. Visualized UCTE live data without data download at Netzfrequenzmessung.de, Swissgrid and Netzfrequenz.info.


7 CO2 emissions and allowance prices



7.1 Emission data

UNFCCC greenhouse gases inventories. Greenhouse gases by country and activity (industry, transport, power, …) from 1990 until t-2. XLS file by year.

EDGAR. The Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR) by EU’s Joint Research Centre.

CDIAC. The Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) is the primary climate-change data and information analysis center of the U.S. Department of Energy.

OECD. GHG emissions by country, source, and year.

IEA. Emissions data from the International Energy Agency.

CAIT. CAIT Climate Data Explorer: historical emissions by country. Provided by the World Resource Institute.

BP Statistical Review. Annual emissions by country.

EIA. U.S. Energy Information Agency.

World Bank. GHG emissions by country/year.

EEA. EU ETS data viewer; provides aggregated data on emissions and allowances by country, sector, and year. Data stem mainly comes from the EU Transaction Log.

EEA: Trends and projections. Emissions data by country and sector (PDF).


7.2 ETS price data

ICE: EUA prices. Via Quandl.

EEX: Primary auction results. Since 2012, XLS.

EEA: Prices 2005-11 and 2008-12. EUA future prices, XLS download option available.


8 Wind and solar power time series



Most transmission system operators provide wind and solar generation time series at high resolution. An extended version of the following table with more information is available for download (XLSX).
 SourceTypeSinceBundle sizeFormatResolutionForecastComment
ATEEX Transparencywind 15'seperate filelogin
DEwind + solar 15'
NLon/offshore 60'
ATAPGwind01.01.2010180 dayscsv, xml15' / 60'seperate file
OeMAGwind01.01.2003yearsxls15'n/a
BEEliaon/offshore19.01.2012monthsxlsx15'same file
solar14.11.2012
CHswissgridn/a
CZČEPSwind + solar01.01.2012anycsv, xlsx, xml1' / 15'n/a
DETenneton/offshore13.07.2005monthscsv15'same file
solar01.01.2010
50 Hertzwind 01.01.2005yearscsv15'seperate file
solar01.01.2012
Amprionwind 01.03.2006completecsv15'same file
solar01.07.2010
Transnet BWwind 01.01.2010monthscsv15'same file
solar01.01.2011
Netztransparenzwind 01.04.20111 yearcsv15'seperate filecaptcha
solar01.04.2011
DKEnerginet DKwind01.01.2000completexls60'n/a2 bidding zones
solar18.12.2013
ESREEwind01.01.2007dayshtml10'n/a
solar24.07.2013
FIFingridwind28.11.20141 yearxls, xml60'n/a
FRRTEwind + solar15.12.2014yearsxls in zip60'seperate file
wind forecast25.01.2011
solar forecast16.12.2014
IEEirGridwind10.01.2002
ITTernawind + solar24.02.2010daysxls60'separate file
NLTennetn/a
NOStatnetn/a
PLPSEwind26.05.2012dayscsv60'n/a
SESvenska Kraftnätwind01.01.2002yearsxls60'n/a4 bidding zones
solar01.07.2010
UKELEXONwind05.11.2008yearscsv30'n/alogin
wind06.11.2008quarterscsv in zip5'

9 Weather data



This section links re-analysis weather datasets. Re-analysis or “hindcast” projects use state-of the art weather forecast models with long time series of weather observations. They create consistent series of weather data, often of decades and with a global scope. Such data are often used in power system modelling to create input data, such as wind and solar power generation patterns. Reanalysis.org and NCAR provide a helpful overview of re-analysis models. Data are usually provided in GRIB or NetCDF format and can be very large in size (100s of GB).

An extended version of the following table with more information is available for download (XLSX).

Institution / ModelReleasedCoverageSpatial Resolution (lat x lon, degrees)Time Resolution (hours)Wind Speed HeightsOther Model Heights
ECMWF / ERA-4020041957 – 20021.125 x 1.125610 m60
ECMWF / ERA-Interim20061979 – present0.75 x 0.75610 m60
ECMWF / ERA-20C20121900 – 20101.125 x 1.25‒2.5310, 100 m91
JMA / JRA-2520041979 – 20041.125 x 1.125610 m40
JMA / JRA-5520131958 – present0.5625 x 0.5625610 m60
NASA / MERRA20091979 – present0.5 x 0.66712, 10, 50 m72
NASA / MERRA v22016 ?1979 – present0.5 x 0.62512, 10, 50 m72
NCEP / R220011979 – 20122.5 x 2.5610 m28
NCEP / CFSR20091979 – 20100.5 x 0.5110 m6
NCEP / CFSv220112011 – present0.5 x 0.5610 m6
NOAA / 20CRv220101871 – 20112 x 2610 m28

Source: Iain Staffell and Stefan Pfenninger, 2016. Using Bias-Corrected Reanalysis for Accurate Wind Power Simulation.

R-Code for deriving wind power production from MERRA-2 wind speeds from the COPA model. Includes examples that walk the reader through all steps of deriving windpower production from gridded wind data and an extensive list of functions for vertical and horizontal interpolation of wind speeds, and for bias correction.


10 Country-specific data portals



In many countries, data portals provide a wealth of national power system data. Such data portals are operated by regulators, ministries, agencies, or system operators.

AT E-Control and Statistik Austria

DE Netztransparenz (TSOs)

10.1 Transparency websites

Since REMIT (Regulation on Wholesale Energy Markets Integrity and Transparency) was adopted in 2011, both system operators and market participants are oblidged to publish a range of “transparency data”. The goal of REMIT is to combat insider trading and market manipulation, hence it is focused on short-term and real-time data. REMIT data are published on different data portals (see Acer overview), some of which also provide longer historical time series. Data portals that narrowly focus on power plant unavailability data are not listed here.

EEX Transparency. On its Transparency website, EEX publishes REMIT data for DE, NL, BE, CH, AT, CZ, HU.

GB neta. Since 2014, Elexon publishes British REMIT data on its neta website.

BE Elia Transparency

IT Terna

SE Svenska Kraftnät