Britain shuts down last coal-fired power station, ending 142 years of coal dependence | Lifestyle News

With the closure of the Ratcliffe-on-Soar coal-fired power station, Britain has finally moved away from its reliance on coal for energy, symbolizing the beginning of an era of clean energy. It is the first country to build a coal-fired power plant, which paved the way for several such power generation centers that played a prominent role in the Industrial Revolution.

With the shutdown of the power station, the UK marks the end of its 142-year dependence on coal and sets a milestone in its efforts to generate all of the UK’s energy from sustainable sources by 2030. Power station manager Peter O’Grady said it was “an emotional moment”. Day” and that he could never imagine a future without coal when he began his career at the plant around 36 years ago.

The shutdown makes Britain the first of the major Group of Seven economies to phase out coal.
Energy Minister Michael Shanks said the plant’s closure marked the end of an era and that coal miners could be rightly proud of their work, which has provided their country with electricity for over 140 years. “As a country, we owe a debt of gratitude to generations. “The age of coal may be coming to an end, but a new era of good energy jobs for our country is just beginning,” he said.
The world’s first coal-fired power station, Thomas Edison’s Edison Electric Light Station, opened in London in 1882.

Ratcliffe-on-Soar, which opened in 1968, is a landmark whose eight concrete cooling towers and 199 meter (650 ft) tall chimney are seen by millions of people every year as they drive past on the M1 motorway or speed past on trains.

In 1990, coal provided around 80 percent of Britain’s electricity. By 2012 it had fallen to 39 percent and by 2023 it was just 1 percent, according to figures from the National Grid. More than half of Britain’s electricity now comes from renewable sources such as wind and solar energy, with the rest coming from natural gas and nuclear energy.
(With inputs from PTI via AP)