The United Kingdom closed the last of its coal-fired power stations on Monday, hailed by experts as the first developed country to complete nearly 140 years of reliance on coal for electricity. The shutdown places the UK at the forefront of the energy transition, and it is now the first G7 country to end coal from the energy mix. The shift represents a major step toward net-zero emissions by 2050, putting the country in a strong frontline position regarding the global energy transition.
End of An Era
The closure of Ratcliffe-on-Soar, a plant that has powered central England for nearly 60 years, marks the end of the long dominance of coal in UK energy sources. Constructed in the early 1960s, the coal-fired power station was one of the last remaining vestiges of the once-thriving British coal industry. Coal had contributed to 70% of the electricity generation in the UK during the 1980s. However, it has plummeted in the last couple of years to just 1% of the country’s energy mix as of 2022.
“It’s the end of the era of coal but the beginning of a new age of good energy jobs for our country,” Energy Minister Michael Shanks said. “This is a proud moment for the UK as it continues to lead the world in transitioning to a cleaner greener energy future.”.
A Greener Future: Ratcliffe-on-Soar Changes the Game
The closure of the plant represents, first and foremost, the end of coal. It is also a new stage for the UK’s energy scene. New owner Uniper is planning to exploit the site as a “carbon-free technology and energy hub.” Two years will pass before the site is officially decommissioned. In that period, many of the approximately 350 employees and contractors will be redeployed. Others will be made redundant through phased redundancy by the end of 2026 as the site transitions towards its new role.
As the planned energy hub is to be completed on green technology, renewable energy production, and sustainable innovation, so it will fulfill the greater objective of the UK to lower carbon emissions in parallel with increasing the share of renewables in the energy portfolio.
This is the description of closing a power station: creating new opportunities for new industries that will power Britain’s future, as Jane Foster, a Uniper spokesperson, said. The new hub will not only support the country’s energy transition but will also create high-skilled jobs in clean energy technologies.
Global Implications
The international community has only just received a wake-up call from the UK closing down its last coal-fired plant. Coal phase-out and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions regarding the climate goals set up for the whole world is how countries around the globe are facing their challenge, according to the policy director at Greenpeace UK Doug Parr. “Britain has set an example that the rest of the world must follow.”
International focus must now be on ending this oil and gas addiction, and what is expected to be a central theme of the COP28 climate summit later this year is ending coal-based electricity production. Other countries in G7, Italy, France, Canada, and Germany, all recently announced similar plans to end their use of coal to generate electricity within the next decade.
Timeline: Coal for 140 Years
A relationship almost as old as the UK is also one it has with coal. In 1882, the world’s first coal-fired power station, Edison Electric Light Station, was opened in London. This marked the beginning of the era of coal as an energy leader for the industrialising British economy. For most of the 20th century, coal was almost the heart of power generation in the UK.
The end, however, came in the late 20th and early 21st centuries as growing awareness of coal’s environmental impact and progress in renewable energy technologies led to a consistent decline in usage. The government’s commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 has hastened this decline as coal use becomes gradually phased out in favour of cleaner alternatives.
“Coal was the backbone of power generation in the UK for over a century, but its place is now in history books,” said Friends of the Earth energy campaigner Tony Bosworth. “Now, efforts should be made to bring about a just transition for workers and communities that have been reliant on coal for generations.”
Leading the Green Energy Revolution
With the closure of Ratcliffe-on-Soar, the UK is really galloping towards a more sustainable energy mix. One year ago, a third of this country’s electricity came from natural gas while wind power comprised a quarter, and nuclear 13%. One can well hope the role of renewable energy sources, like wind and solar, will continue growing in the UK’s energy future.
The newly elected Labour government unveiled a bold plan on generating green energy as part of its policies, and it includes offshore wind farms and tidal power set to mushroom at the same time as investment in new nuclear power generation. A state-owned energy company will oversee these investments as part of which the UK will stay ahead on its decarbonisation targets.
“As the UK puts behind it its legacy of coal power, it is poised to take the world’s lead in renewable energy generation.”. In Britain, Ratcliffe-on-Soar’s closure is a milestone, but for the rest of the world, it will be a beacon of what can happen when countries commit themselves to a sustainable energy future. The window to prevent the worst impacts of climate change is rapidly closing, and now the rest of the world must do likewise.
Countries like Italy, France, Canada, and Germany will also follow Britain’s suit and therefore hold the key to unlocking this new face of the energy market. For the time being, however, Britain can look at itself as the first nation among G7 to bid farewell to coal, taking it one step closer toward a greener and cleaner future.