United Kingdom, Oct 01 (Alliance News): Britain’s final coal-fired power station, Ratcliffe-on-Soar, will shut down today, marking the end of 142 years of coal-powered electricity in the country that led the Industrial Revolution.
Located in central England, the plant will cease operations at midnight after over 50 years of service. Its owner, Uniper, announced that most of the 170 employees will remain during the two-year decommissioning process.
The UK government celebrated the closure as a significant step toward achieving its goal of generating all electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
Britain becomes the first G7 nation to phase out coal power, although other European countries like Sweden and Belgium reached this milestone earlier.
Energy Minister Michael Shanks lauded the workers who powered Britain with coal for over 140 years. “The era of coal might be ending, but a new age of good energy jobs for our country is just beginning,” he said.
Ratcliffe-on-Soar, which opened in 1968, is a well-known landmark with its eight massive cooling towers and 650-foot chimney visible to travelers along the M1 highway. The plant’s closure symbolizes the broader energy transition underway in Britain.
In 1990, coal generated 80% of the country’s electricity. By 2023, it contributed only 1%, with more than half of Britain’s electricity now coming from renewable sources like wind and solar, along with natural gas and nuclear power.
Dhara Vyas, deputy CEO of Energy U.K., called the transition “an incredible achievement” and noted that the pace of change in the past decade has been remarkable.
