  We constructed a frequently updated, near-real-time global power generation
dataset: Carbon Monitor-Power since January, 2016 at national levels with
near-global coverage and hourly-to-daily time resolution. The data presented
here are collected from 37 countries across all continents for eight source
groups, including three types of fossil sources (coal, gas, and oil), nuclear
energy and four groups of renewable energy sources (solar energy, wind energy,
hydro energy and other renewables including biomass, geothermal, etc.). The
global near-real-time power dataset shows the dynamics of the global power
system, including its hourly, daily, weekly and seasonal patterns as influenced
by daily periodical activities, weekends, seasonal cycles, regular and
irregular events (i.e., holidays) and extreme events (i.e., the COVID-19
pandemic). The Carbon Monitor-Power dataset reveals that the COVID-19 pandemic
caused strong disruptions in some countries (i.e., China and India), leading to
a temporary or long-lasting shift to low carbon intensity, while it had only
little impact in some other countries (i.e., Australia). This dataset offers a
large range of opportunities for power-related scientific research and
policy-making.
