Britain Bids Farewell to Coal: The End of an Era

The Ratcliffe-on-Soar coal-fired power station, Britain's last coal plant, closes, concluding over a century of coal-generated electricity in the UK. This mainstay of the Industrial Revolution will undergo a two-year decommissioning process, reflecting the UK's shift towards renewable energy sources with a goal to phase out coal entirely by 2030.

Britain's last coal-fired power plant, Ratcliffe-on-Soar, will close on Monday, marking the end of 142 years of coal-generated electricity in the country that sparked the Industrial Revolution.

The Ratcliffe-on-Soar station, located in central England, will finish its final shift at midnight, concluding over half a century of coal-to-power conversion. Its owner, Uniper, has announced that many of the 170 employees will remain during a two-year decommissioning period.

The UK government celebrated the closure as a significant step toward generating all of Britain's energy from renewable sources by 2030. This milestone makes Britain the first of the G7 nations to phase out coal, even though countries like Sweden and Belgium achieved this earlier.

Energy Minister Michael Shanks stated the closure "marks the end of an era" and recognized the contributions of coal workers over the past 140 years. He emphasized that while the coal era is concluding, a new era of renewable energy jobs is beginning.

Ratcliffe-on-Soar has been operational since 1968 and is known for its prominent concrete cooling towers and 199-meter chimney, visible to millions of travelers passing by.

In 1990, coal supplied about 80 per cent of Britain's electricity, dropping to 39 per cent by 2012, and just 1 per cent by 2023 according to National Grid statistics. Currently, more than half of Britain's electricity is derived from renewable sources like wind and solar, with the rest coming from natural gas and nuclear energy.

Dhara Vyas, deputy chief executive of Energy UK, highlighted the rapid transition from coal, which was the leading power source a decade ago, to cleaner energy alternatives.

(With inputs from agencies.)