End of an era: Britain’s last coal-fired power station shuts down | Energy industry

Britain’s only remaining coal-fired power station at Ratcliffe-on-Soar in Nottinghamshire will generate electricity for the last time on Monday after supplying Britain with electricity for 57 years.

The power station will reach the end of its life, in line with the government’s world-leading policy to phase out coal power, first announced almost a decade ago.

The closure marks the end of the 142-year history of coal-fired power generation in the UK, which began when the world’s first coal-fired power station, the Holborn Viaduct power station, began generating electricity in 1882.

The shutdown was hailed by green campaigners as a major government achievement in reducing the UK’s carbon emissions, providing international leadership on climate action and ensuring a “just transition” for workers in the UK’s coal industry.

Energy Minister Michael Shanks said: “Today’s closure of Ratcliffe marks the end of an era and coal miners can rightly be proud of their work, which has powered our country for over 140 years. “As a country, we owe a debt of gratitude for generations.”

The United Kingdom has become the first country to set an end date for coal-fired power generation from 2025 after introducing increasingly strict environmental regulations to reduce the operating hours of its coal-fired power plants.

Ministers reinforced the UK’s leadership on the coal phase-out by calling for the deadline to be brought forward by a year, just before the UK hosts the UN climate change conference Cop26 in Glasgow at the end of 2021.

Ratcliffe’s 170 remaining employees will be invited to a meeting in the canteen on Monday, where a livestream from the power station’s control room will show the moment the power generating units are switched off for the final time.

Peter O’Grady, Ratcliffe factory manager, said: “There have been a number of poignant moments throughout the year. I’m sure there will be a few tears when this whole thing stops and people leave.”

The coal-fired power plant once employed 3,000 engineers, but its workforce has declined in recent years in line with electricity production. Coal power accounted for 80% of Britain’s electricity in the early 1980s, rising to 40% in 2012, before drying up over the last decade due to costly carbon taxes and the emergence of cheaper renewables.

“This is the final chapter of a remarkably rapid transition from the country that began the Industrial Revolution,” said Phil MacDonald, managing director of global energy think tank Ember.

A report by Ember found that coal-fired power in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries has halved since its peak in 2007. According to Ember, coal-fired power accounted for 17% of electricity generated by OECD countries last year, with 27 of the 38 member states committed to being coal-free by the end of the decade.

Ed Matthew, director of climate crisis think tank E3G, said: “The UK was the first country to build a coal-fired power station. It is true that it is the first major economy to phase out coal-fired power generation. This is true global leadership, paving the way for other countries.”

Tony Bosworth, a campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: “The priority now is to also move away from gas by unlocking the UK’s huge domestic renewable energy potential as quickly as possible and delivering the associated economic boost. “But this vital green transition must be fair, protecting workers and benefiting communities.”

Employees were first told in 2021 that the plant would close at the end of 2022, but Ratcliffe’s owner, German energy group Uniper, later said it would close the plant as part of an agreement with the EU during the pan-European gas crisis caused by the invasion Russia’s entry into Ukraine was triggered to keep the government running.

Uniper has worked with unions to help many engineers get new jobs at the company’s other power plants or receive training that could lead to work in other areas of the energy industry. More than 100 are expected to remain at the plant to carry out decommissioning work over the next two years.

Michael Lewis, Uniper’s chief executive, said: “For me, Ratcliffe has always been more than just a power station – it has been a pillar of Britain’s energy security for decades.” Ratcliffe was built at a time when coal was the backbone of industrial progress and supply over 2 million households and businesses with electricity – equivalent to the area of ​​the entire East Midlands region. It played a crucial role in stimulating economic growth and sustaining the livelihoods of thousands of people.

“This will be the first time since 1882 that coal will not power Britain. As we close this chapter, we honor Ratcliffe’s legacy and the people who work here, while embracing the future of clean and flexible energy,” he said.