Britain's last coal-fired power plant set to close today after 56 years in end of an era

UK's past coal-fired powerfulness presumption volition adjacent contiguous (Image: Getty)

Britain’s lone remaining ember powerfulness works is acceptable to make energy for the past clip contiguous aft powering the UK for 56 years.

Ratcliffe-on-Soar powerfulness presumption successful Nottinghamshire has been generating energy since 1968 via its 4 coal-fired boilers, 8 immense cooling towers and 199-metre gangly chimney.

It is capable to powerfulness astir 2 cardinal homes and has been the past presumption of its benignant successful the UK since September 2023, erstwhile Northern Ireland’s Kilroot powerfulness presumption stopped producing energy from coal.

Ratcliffe has present closed for the last clip but galore of the 170 radical employed by the plant’s owner, Uniper, volition enactment connected to assistance with the two-year decommissioning process.

Dhara Vyas, lawman main enforcement of Energy UK, said: “Ten years ago, ember was the starring root of this country’s powerfulness – generating a 3rd of our electricity.

“So, to get to this constituent conscionable a decennary later, with coal’s publication replaced by cleanable and debased c sources, is an unthinkable achievement.

“As we purpose for further ambitious targets successful the vigor transition, it’s worthy remembering that fewer backmost past thought specified a alteration astatine specified a gait was possible.”

The UK began utilizing ember for energy via the Holborn Viaduct powerfulness presumption successful London successful 1882, the archetypal of its benignant successful the world.

Coal went connected to play a large relation successful the nationalist vigor proviso passim the 20th period and accounted for astir 80% of UK powerfulness successful 1990, falling to 39% successful 2012.

Since then, 15 ember powerfulness plants closed oregon switched fuels and past twelvemonth the fossil substance made up conscionable 1% of the UK’s supply, according to information from National Grid’s Electricity System Operator.

Meanwhile, renewables, chiefly upwind and star power, present marque up much than fractional of the mix, according to Government statistics.

Gas has besides played a portion successful the switch, rising from 28% of the powerfulness premix successful 2012 to 34% past year.

While the likes of Sweden and Belgium were among the archetypal successful Europe to signifier retired ember entirely, the UK volition beryllium the archetypal state successful the G7 bloc of large satellite economies to scope the milestone.

Minister for vigor Michael Shanks said: “Today’s closure astatine Ratcliffe marks the extremity of an epoch and ember workers tin beryllium rightly arrogant of their enactment powering our state for implicit 140 years. We beryllium generations a indebtedness of gratitude arsenic a country.

“The epoch of ember mightiness beryllium ending, but a caller property of bully vigor jobs for our state is conscionable beginning. The Government’s cleanable vigor superpower ngo is astir creating bully jobs successful upwind powerfulness and caller technologies similar c seizure and storage.

“That enactment is helping boost our vigor information and independence, protecting families from planetary hikes successful the terms of fossil fuels and with it, creating jobs and tackling clime change.”