Britain becomes first rich country to end coal power as last ever UK power station SHUTS for good

Britain’s nearly 150-year reliance on coal power ended last night.

The last remaining coal-fired power station, at Ratcliffe-on-Soar near Nottingham, switched off its generators for the last time at midnight.

The symbolic moment makes the United Kingdom the first G7 country to close down all of its coal power stations.

It draws to a close 142 years of British reliance on the fossil fuel to generate electricity.

France is due to phase out coal by 2027, Canada by 2030, the US by 2035 and Germany only plans to stop burning brown coal – the most polluting fossil fuel – in 2038.

The UK is not the first in Europe however – Sweden and Belgium have both already closed their coal power stations.

The closing draws to a close 142 years of British reliance on the fossil fuel to generate electricity

The symbolic moment makes the United Kingdom the first G7 country to close down all of its coal power stations

Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station has been generating electricity since 1968 via its four coal-fired boilers, eight vast cooling towers and 199m-tall chimney, which occupies a prominent spot in the East Midlands skyline.

Able to power about two million homes, it became the last station of its kind in the UK since September 2023, when Northern Ireland’s Kilroot power station stopped producing electricity from coal.

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, and opened by electricity pioneer and inventor Thomas Edison.

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 UK power in 1990, falling 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.’

The power station has occupied a prominent spot in the East Midlands skyline

Many of the 170 people employed by the plant’s owner, Uniper, will stay on to help with the two-year decommissioning process

Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station under construction in 1964 

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 UK power in 1990 (pictured: Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in 1966)

But next comes the far larger task of significantly reducing the use of gas and further ramping up renewables, as the newly-elected Labour Government seeks to hit net zero emissions from electricity generation by 2030.

Its first steps were to set up a new state-owned energy investment company, GB Energy, and to lift a de facto ban on new onshore wind projects in the planning system in England.

The Government has also handed out contracts for a new wave of green power projects in early September, including onshore and offshore wind and solar farms, which officials said will generate enough power for 11 million homes, in its annual auction.

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.’

Able to power about two million homes, Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station became the last station of its kind in the UK since September 2023

Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station has been generating electricity since 1968 via its four coal-fired boiler

But the era of coal is not over.

The use of coal to generate electricity still rose 1.1% last year, according to energy analysis company Ember.

This was mainly driven by China, which accounted for 54.9 per cent of global coal-fired generation.

The International Energy Agency has warned that the world needs to stop burning coal by 2040 to stop the world warming by more than 1.5c compared to pre-industrial times. China’s official plan is to still get around 20 per cent of its power from fossil fuel sources by 2060.