<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/last-coal-power-station-in-uk-shuts-down-bring-coal-era-to-end-after-143-years/>
"After nearly 143 years of power generation, the era of coal in the United
Kingdom has drawn to a close, with the 2GW Ratcliffe-on-Soar facility in the
East Midlands officially ceasing operations at midnight on Monday UK time.
The Ratcliffe-on-Soar power plant, located in Nottinghamshire and operated by
German energy company Uniper, officially ceased operations at 9am AEST on
Tuesday, bringing to an end an era that began when the Edison Electric Light
Station was began operating in January of 1882.
Coal has been on a long and torturous slump in the UK, however, slipping from
prominence and an 80 per cent share of generation in 1990 as a combination of
government policy and financial incentives drove the growth of renewable
energy. Over the last two decades, coal-free days in the UK became increasingly
common.
This was hastened in 2015 when the government announced plans to end UK coal
power generation over the following decade, and October 2024 being announced as
the end date in 2020.
“The UK was the first country to build a coal fired power station. It is right
that it is the first major economy to exit coal power,” said Ed Matthew, from
climate change think tank E3G.
“This is true global leadership, lighting the path for other countries to
follow. The UK will now focus on rapidly eliminating unabated gas from its
power system and oil from transport. The clean energy revolution is in full
swing and the prize will be cheaper, more secure and less polluting power and a
chance to end the climate crisis.”
Since it was commissioned in 1967, Ratcliffe-on-Soar has produced enough energy
to make more than 21 trillion cups of tea, generated enough to power two
million homes, but it has also been one of the country’s biggest emitters,
releasing 2.7 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent in 2023 alone."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
