The UK is set to achieve a major milestone on Monday (30 September) with the closing of the nation’s final coal-fired power plant, Uniper’s 2,000MW Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in Nottinghamshire.
This means that from 1 October 2024, the UK will officially have 0% of coal-fired power in the electricity mix. This is a major milestone for the country, which is now firmly focused on developing a clean energy system by 2030.
Coal displacement from the UK power sector has happened extraordinarily rapidly. Since 2000, 25 coal plants have closed or switched to other fuels, 15 of those since 2012.
Drax revealed in 2020 that its two remaining coal units would close in March 2021, and SSE’s last coal-fired power station, Fiddler’s Ferry, and RWE’s Aberthaw B coal-fired power station, both closed in March 2020.
On 31 March 2023, French-owned energy company EDF Energy closed its 2,000MW West Burton A coal-fired power station, leaving Ratcliffe as the final plant in the UK.
However, this was not the end of West Burton’s power generation. The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) confirmed it would develop the nation’s first fusion energy plant as part of the government-backed Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP).
Frankie Mayo, senior energy and climate analyst – UK at think tank Ember, said the transition from coal-fired power has happened in an “astonishingly short period” but work must continue to build a clean power system.
“The era of coal-free power begins. The UK has achieved something massive, shifting its power system from a huge polluter to one where renewables are thriving, in an astonishingly short period of time. But the work to build a clean power system will continue – to cut the need for expensive imported gas, to lower energy bills and to generate the clean electricity which will enable the rest of the economy to transition too,” Mayo said.
It should also be noted that earlier this year (30 April), the G7 nations struck a landmark deal to end reliance on coal power by 2035, marking a watershed moment in the fight against climate change.
The decision, announced during a ministerial meeting in Turin, Italy, signalled a significant commitment from the world’s leading economies to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels.
