The UK’s last remaining coal-fired power station has received its final shipment of coal ahead of shutting down later this year.
Uniper’s Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station received the 1,650-tonne delivery, transported by GB Railfreight, which is expected to be the last before the station is decommissioned on September 30. According to Uniper, this amount of coal is enough to power around 500,000 homes for an eight-hour period.
Mike Lockett, Uniper UK country chair said: “The last coal delivery will be a significant moment and one that heralds the end of the story for the power station. However, it’s not the end for the site, as we look towards a future where it could become a zero-carbon technology and energy hub for the East Midlands.
“The site has a Local Development Order in place granted by Rushcliffe borough council in 2023, which provides a framework for future sustainable development, and a large section of the site is also part of the East Midlands Freeport. We’re also exploring the potential for future hydrogen production at the Ratcliffe power station site. This all aligns to Uniper’s aim to be completely carbon-neutral by 2040.”
Coal comes to a close; it is time for gas to go
Other countries are following Britain’s lead in phasing out coal power. The G7 group of nations has signed a landmark agreement to phase out coal power by 2035, something which the UK minister for nuclear and renewables, Andrew Bowie, hailed as a “historic” moment for the global energy transition.
With the end of coal power in sight, the same efforts must be applied to moving away from gas-fired power plants to secure our clean energy future.
This has seemed unlikely to take place in the UK’s immediate future, as Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho repeatedly expressed support for new domestic gas power plants in the UK. Speaking in March 2024, Coutinho said “There are no two ways about it. Without gas backing up renewables, we face the genuine prospect of blackouts” while urging that countries must be “realistic” in their approach to the net-zero transition.
While this seems like a reasonable approach, analysis shows that with the increasing penetration of renewables onto the grid, new gas-fired power plants may not only be unnecessary but could also drive up consumer energy prices in the UK.
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