Britain’s last coal-fired power station is to close. It ends 142 years of coal power in the UK

LONDON– Britain’s last coal-fired power station will close on Monday, ending 142 years of coal-fired power generation in the country that sparked the Industrial Revolution.

The Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in central England is due to finish its last shift at midnight after more than half a century of converting coal into electricity. Owner Uniper says many of the 170 remaining employees will remain employed during a two-year decommissioning process.

The British government hailed the closure as a milestone in efforts to generate all of the UK’s energy from renewable sources by 2030. The closure makes Britain the first country in the Group of Seven major economies to phase out coal – unlike some other European countries, including Sweden and Belgium, which were there earlier.

Energy Minister Michael Shanks said the plant’s closure “marks the end of an era and coal miners can rightly be proud of the work that has powered our country for over 140 years. “As a country, we owe a debt of gratitude for 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% of Britain’s electricity. By 2012 it had fallen to 39% and by 2023 it was just 1%, 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.

“Ten years ago, coal was this country’s main source of energy, generating a third of our electricity,” said Dhara Vyas, deputy chief executive of trade body Energy UK

“So to get to this point just a decade later where coal has been replaced by clean and low-carbon sources is an incredible achievement,” Vyas said. “As we strive for further ambitious goals in the energy transition, we should remember this. “Few people would have thought back then that such a change would be possible at such a pace.”