Britain’s only remaining coal power plant is set to generate electricity for the last time today after powering the UK for 56 years.
Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in Nottinghamshire has been generating electricity since 1968 via its four coal-fired boilers, eight vast cooling towers and 199-metre tall chimney.
It is able to power about two million homes and has been the last station of its kind in the UK since September 2023, when Northern Ireland’s Kilroot power station stopped producing electricity from coal.
Ratcliffe has now closed for the final time but many of the 170 people employed by the plant’s owner, Uniper, will stay on to help with the two-year decommissioning process.
Dhara Vyas, deputy chief executive of Energy UK, said: “Ten years ago, coal was the leading source of this country’s power – generating a third of our electricity.
“So, to get to this point just a decade later, with coal’s contribution replaced by clean and low carbon sources, is an incredible achievement.
“As we aim for further ambitious targets in the energy transition, it’s worth remembering that few back then thought such a change at such a pace was possible.”
The UK began using coal for electricity via the Holborn Viaduct power station in London in 1882, the first of its type in the world.
Coal went on to play a major role in the national energy supply throughout the 20th century and accounted for about 80% of UK power in 1990, falling to 39% in 2012.
Since then, 15 coal power plants closed or switched fuels and last year the fossil fuel made up just 1% of the UK’s supply, according to data from National Grid’s Electricity System Operator.
Meanwhile, renewables, mainly wind and solar power, now make up more than half of the mix, according to Government statistics.
Gas has also played a part in the switch, rising from 28% of the power mix in 2012 to 34% last year.
While the likes of 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 the milestone.
Minister for energy Michael Shanks said: “Today’s closure at Ratcliffe marks the end of an era and coal workers can be rightly proud of their work powering our country for over 140 years. We owe generations a debt of gratitude as a country.
“The era of coal might be ending, but a new age of good energy jobs for our country is just beginning. The Government’s clean energy superpower mission is about creating good jobs in wind power and new technologies like carbon capture and storage.
“That work is helping boost our energy security and independence, protecting families from international hikes in the price of fossil fuels and with it, creating jobs and tackling climate change.”
Meanwhile today is a “difficult” day for steel workers in Wales, the chief executive of Tata Steel acknowledged as the shutdown of the last blast furnace in Port Talbot began.
The company started winding up operations at blast furnace number four at the UK’s largest steel plant on Monday, bringing an end to ironmaking on the site.
The move will see nearly 2,000 jobs lost at the plant, which will transition to greener steel production from 2027.
Large plumes of black smoke could briefly be seen pouring from the plant as the shutdown got under way, l
