The last coal-fired power station in the UK will close in a clean energy milestone

Britain’s last coal-fired power station will shut down later on Monday, ending Britain’s 142-year reliance on fossil fuels to generate electricity.

Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station has been generating electricity since 1968 through its four coal-fired boilers, eight huge cooling towers and a 199 meter high chimney, which occupies a prominent place in the East Midlands skyline.

It can supply around two million homes with electricity and has been the last plant of its kind in the UK since September 2023, when Northern Ireland’s Kilroot power station stopped producing electricity from coal.

Ratcliffe will close for the last time on Monday.

The UK’s transition away from coal has been driven by a combination of decarbonisation targets and a dramatic increase in the feasibility and affordability of renewable energy.

“This is a British success story, overseen by successive governments of different stripes,” said Jess Ralston, head of energy at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU).

“There were those who warned of power outages if coal disappeared from the grid, but their predictions of doom have been proven wrong time and time again.”

Many of the power plant owner Uniper’s 170 employees will stay to support the two-year decommissioning process.

The closure of Ratcliffe will completely end the country’s use of coal to generate electricity, which began in 1882 with the Holborn Viaduct power station in London, the first of its kind in the world.

Coal played an important role in the national energy supply throughout the 20th century, accounting for around 80 percent of Britain’s electricity in 1990, falling to 39 percent in 2012.

Since then, 15 coal-fired power stations have closed or switched fuel, and last year the fossil fuel accounted for just 1% of the UK’s supply, according to data from National Grid’s Electricity System Operator.

Renewable energy, mainly wind and solar, now accounts for more than half of the energy mix, according to government statistics.

Gas also played a role in the transition, rising from 28 percent of the electricity mix in 2012 to 34 percent last year.

Dhara Vyas, deputy chief executive of Energy UK, said: “Ten years ago, coal was this country’s main source of energy – producing a third of our electricity.

“So to get to this point just a decade later, where coal has been replaced by clean and low-carbon sources, is an incredible achievement.

“As we continue to pursue ambitious goals in the energy transition, we should remember that at the time, few would have thought such a transformation at such a pace was possible.”

According to the National Grid, coal contributed just 1 percent of the UK’s electricity supply in 2023, compared to 39 percent in 2012. Wind and solar energy now provide over 50 percent of the country’s electricity.

While countries like Sweden and Belgium were among the first in Europe to phase out coal entirely, the UK will be the first country in the G7 bloc of major world economies to reach this milestone.

In comparison, France has given itself until 2027 to complete the phase-out, and Canada will follow suit by 2030. According to current planning, Germany will not do this until 2038.

But next comes the far bigger task of significantly reducing gas consumption and further expanding renewable energy, as the newly elected Labor government aims to achieve net-zero emissions from electricity generation by 2030.

His first steps were to set up a new state-owned energy investment company, GB Energy, and to lift a virtual ban on new onshore wind projects in the planning system in England.

The government also awarded contracts for a new wave of green energy projects at its annual auction in early September, including onshore and offshore wind and solar farms that officials say will generate enough electricity for 11 million households.

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 age of coal may be coming to an end, but a new era of good energy jobs for our country is just beginning. The Government’s clean energy superpower mission is about attracting good jobs in wind power and new technologies such as carbon capture and storage create.

“This work helps strengthen our energy security and independence, protect families from international fossil fuel price increases, thereby creating jobs and combating climate change.”

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband recently said the transition to clean electricity is not just about tackling the climate crisis but also energy security after gas prices soared as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and consumer bills in 2022 and skyrocketed in 2023.

Coal was a key driver of the climate crisis, contributing large amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. In 2022 alone, the fuel was responsible for 30 percent of all harmful greenhouse gases.

Britain’s coal-fired power stations emitted more than 150 million tonnes of CO2 annually in peak years, making Britain one of the world’s biggest polluters.

Renewable energies are now also cheaper than fossil fuels. The International Energy Agency reported that in 2023, an estimated 96 percent of newly installed solar and onshore wind turbines worldwide had lower generation costs than new natural gas.

Ms Ralston said: “The British public, angered by over-reliance on gas for electricity and home heating during the ongoing gas price crisis, is hoping to transition to renewable energy not only to reduce emissions but also to stabilize energy prices.”

When it comes to coal, many countries are phasing out coal, but global use of the fossil fuel to generate electricity still rose 1.1 percent last year, according to energy analytics firm Ember.

The main driver for this was China, which accounted for 54.9 percent of global coal production.

However, China built seven times more renewable energy capacity than coal last year, suggesting that even the world’s largest coal consumer will eventually switch to clean energy.

Christine Shearer, research analyst at Global Energy Monitor, said there was still “a lot of work to do” to meet global phase-out targets, most of which are aimed at 2035 in developed countries.

She added: “The good news is that the UK shows that a country’s clear commitment to phasing out coal often happens even faster than planned because the political landscape becomes clear and paves the way for cheaper alternatives.”

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “As Britain moves away from fossil fuels, it is vital that jobs and workers’ rights are protected.

“In Ratcliffe-on-Soar, the GMB, Unite and Prospect unions worked with employers to ensure all workers affected by the closure were redeployed. With unions and workers at the heart of transition planning, it ensured that no workers were left behind. This is in stark contrast to the chaotic job losses threatening the steel and oil and gas industries.

“Achieving a fair transition on climate change requires a strong industrial strategy, supported by sustainable public investment and a worker voice. Ratcliffe can give us hope that with the right approach, coordinated pathways to new jobs and investment in skills creation are possible.”