Britain is closing its last coal-fired power station, ending 142 years of operation

Britain is expected to shut down its last coal-fired power station on Monday, becoming the first G7 country to ditch coal.

Today electricity production at the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in Nottinghamshire, England, ends after 57 years of operation, marking the end of the 142-year tradition of coal-fired power generation in the UK.

Around 100 employees at the power plant operated by Uniper in Düsseldorf will be involved in the decommissioning over the next two years, while the company plans to employ people at other power plants or train them for jobs in various areas of the energy industry.

Britain will be the first major G7 industrial country to phase out coal in the electricity sector.

In April, the climate, energy and environment ministers of the G7 countries met in Italy and agreed to phase out existing, unabated coal-fired power generation in their energy systems in the first half of the 2030s.

The proportion of coal used in UK electricity generation since 1882 fell to 39% in 2012 and 2% in 2019, according to an analysis by London-based think tank Ember.

In 2015, Great Britain announced that it would phase out coal-fired power generation by 2025.

The UK’s energy mix has been changing, with coal’s share of electricity generation steadily declining in favor of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power.

Although natural gas plays a significant role in the country’s energy supply, the UK remains committed to achieving a fully carbon-free electricity generation system by 2030.

– The share of coal in electricity generation is constantly falling

Coal’s share of electricity production within the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) fell to 17% last year, compared to a peak of 36% in 2007, according to an analysis by Ember.

Currently, a third of OECD countries avoid using coal to generate electricity. These include Costa Rica, Estonia and Lithuania, which have never used coal, as well as Switzerland, Luxembourg, Latvia, Belgium, Belgium, Sweden, Austria, Portugal, Norway, Norway and Slovakia, which have closed existing coal-fired power plants.

Meanwhile, British Energy Secretary Michael Shanks described the shutdown as “the end of an era.”

Alexandru Mustata, campaigner at Beyond Fossil Fuels, said the closure of Britain’s last coal-fired power station was “a victory for renewable energy and everyone who has fought to phase out coal power”.

“Coal hasn’t just disappeared – the UK has been actively replacing it with healthier, cheaper and safer renewable alternatives,” Mustata said.

“European countries that still burn coal should pay attention: with strong action against polluters, an engaged civil society and a cross-party political consensus, a rapid and fair transition to a safe and affordable energy system based on renewable energy is within reach,” he added added.

Reporting by Nuran Erkul Kaya in London

Written by Handan Kazanci

Anadolu Agency

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