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About
WattTime is a nonprofit organization that delivers real-time and forecast electricity grid emissions intelligence to power data-driven climate action. Their platform provides granular data signals — including marginal CO2, average CO2, and health damage metrics — across 200+ countries and territories, enabling businesses, developers, and researchers to reduce emissions through three key levers: load shifting, renewables siting, and supply chain decarbonization. Load shifting helps flexible technologies like EVs, thermostats, water heaters, and batteries time their electricity use to minimize grid emissions — an approach WattTime estimates could reduce up to 3 gigatons of CO2 annually. Renewables siting intelligence guides where new wind and solar projects should be built for maximum emissions impact (up to 5 Gt saved). Supply chain decarbonization tools help companies identify lower-emissions energy suppliers at the same cost. WattTime offers a developer-friendly API with detailed documentation, an interactive coverage map, and tiered data plans. Their emissions signals power consumer products from partners like Google and Nest, as well as enterprise sustainability programs. Whether you're building a smart device, modeling climate impact, or procuring cleaner energy, WattTime's data infrastructure provides the emissions intelligence layer needed to act on climate at scale.
Key Features
- Global Emissions Data Signals: Provides marginal CO2, average CO2, and health damage signals for electricity grids across 200+ countries and territories in real time.
- Developer API: A well-documented REST API with tiered data plans that allows developers to integrate grid emissions intelligence directly into applications, devices, and workflows.
- Load Shifting Intelligence: Enables flexible energy consumers (EVs, thermostats, batteries) to shift usage to lower-emission grid moments, reducing carbon footprint without changing energy volume.
- Renewables Siting Data: Identifies geographic locations where new wind and solar installations will displace the most emissions, maximizing the ROI of clean energy investments.
- Supply Chain Decarbonization: Helps companies pinpoint lower-emitting energy suppliers at equivalent cost, enabling procurement-driven emissions reductions.
Use Cases
- Smart home device manufacturers integrating real-time grid emissions signals to automatically schedule EV charging or thermostat adjustments during low-carbon grid windows.
- Corporate sustainability teams using WattTime's API to track and report Scope 2 emissions with granular, location-specific grid data.
- Renewable energy developers using siting intelligence to identify where new wind and solar installations will have the greatest emissions displacement impact.
- Researchers and climate scientists accessing global grid carbon data to model decarbonization scenarios and validate climate interventions.
- Energy procurement teams identifying lower-emissions electricity suppliers at equivalent cost to reduce supply chain carbon footprints.
Pros
- Unmatched Global Coverage: Emissions signals span 200+ countries and territories, making it one of the most comprehensive grid carbon datasets available.
- Nonprofit Mission Alignment: As a nonprofit, WattTime prioritizes climate impact over profit, offering accessible data plans and transparent methodology.
- Proven Industry Partnerships: Powers real-world products from major partners like Google and Nest, demonstrating production-grade reliability and scalability.
Cons
- Niche Technical Audience: The platform is primarily designed for developers and data scientists; non-technical users may find it difficult to leverage without engineering support.
- Data Plan Costs at Scale: While entry-level access may be free or low-cost, high-volume or commercial API usage requires paid data plans that may be costly for smaller organizations.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is WattTime and who is it for?
WattTime is a nonprofit that provides real-time electricity grid emissions data. It's designed for developers, sustainability teams, hardware manufacturers, researchers, and enterprises looking to reduce carbon emissions through smarter energy decisions.
What types of emissions data does WattTime provide?
WattTime provides marginal CO2 emissions (the emissions impact of adding or removing load at a given moment), average CO2 emissions, and health damage signals, all tied to specific electricity grids.
How can I access WattTime's data?
WattTime offers a REST API with detailed documentation. You can sign up for a data plan based on your usage needs, ranging from research access to commercial-scale integrations.
Which countries and regions does WattTime cover?
WattTime's emissions signals cover 200+ countries and territories. You can explore coverage via their interactive map on the website.
Is WattTime free to use?
WattTime offers tiered data plans. Some levels of access are available at low or no cost (particularly for researchers and nonprofits), while commercial and high-volume use requires a paid plan.
