LONDON, Sept 30 (Bernama-PA Media/dpa) -- The UK's last remaining coal-fired power station will shut down on Monday, marking the end of Britain's 142-year reliance on the fossil fuel to produce electricity, according to the German news agency (dpa).
Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station has been generating electricity since 1968 via its four coal-fired boilers, eight vast cooling towers, and 199-metre tall chimney, which occupies a prominent spot in the East Midlands skyline.
It is able to power about two million homes and has been the last station of its kind in the United Kingdom (UK) since September 2023, when Northern Ireland's Kilroot power station stopped producing electricity from coal.
On Monday, Ratcliffe closes for the final time.
Many of the 170 people employed by the plant's owner, Uniper, will stay on to help with the two-year decommissioning process.
Ratcliffe's closure puts a full stop on the country's use of coal for electricity, which began with 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 per cent of the UK’s power in 1990, however, this figure fell to 39 per cent in 2012.
Since then, 15 coal power plants closed or switched fuels and last year the fossil fuel made up just 1 per cent 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 per cent of the power mix in 2012 to 34 per cent last year.
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."
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.
France, by comparison, has given itself until 2027 to complete the phase-out, Canada will follow suit until 2030. Germany, on current plans, will not do it until 2038.
-- BERNAMA-dpa
