The closure of the UK’s last coal-fired power plant marks the end of coal-generated electricity in the country that sparked the Industrial Revolution.
As recently as 2012, the UK – the world’s sixth-largest economy – burned coal to generate nearly 40 per cent of its electricity. With the closure on Monday of Ratcliffe-on-Soar generation station in Nottingham, that figure reaches zero following a surge in renewable energy and decarbonisation of electricity.
During this period, wind and solar have risen from providing 6 per cent to 34 per cent of the UK’s electricity, while fossil gas generation has dipped compared to 2012. Wind now produces enough electricity to power 92 per cent of Britain’s 28 million homes.
With a target of decarbonising power generation by 2030, the UK government aims to double onshore wind, triple solar power and quadruple offshore wind.
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In 2015, the UK became the first country in the world to announce a phase-out of coal generation. Since then, 22 European countries have committed to do the same including Ireland. The ESB will cease all generation from coal in its last remaining facility, Moneypoint, no later than 2025.
Globally 40 countries have committed to phase-out of coal generation. China account for 50 per cent of the world’s electricity from coal with 1,161 active plants, followed by India with 285 plants and the US with 204 plants.
“Coal hasn’t simply faded away – the UK has actively replaced it with healthier, cheaper, more secure renewable alternatives,” said Alexandru Mustață, campaigner with Beyond Fossil Fuels.
[ The Irish Times view on energy security: investment in renewables is vitalOpens in new window ]
European countries still burning coal should take heed, he said. “With strong action against polluters, engaged civil society, and cross-party political consensus, a swift and just transition to a secure and affordable renewables-based power system is well within reach.”
Insights director at global energy think tank Ember Dave Jones said: “The renewables revolution is gathering pace around the world, and renewables will soon overtake coal as the single biggest source of global electricity. Once, coal power was a byword for industrial growth, now clean energy is driving economies.”
Pieter de Pous, programme leader in E3G’s Coal to Clean Programme, said the UK was the first country in the world to start burning coal for power and is now among the first to stop doing so, joining a growing group of coal-free countries in Europe including Belgium, Sweden, Austria, and Portugal.
“The same combination of carrots and sticks that has brought the UK to this historical moment is continuing to replace coal – and increasingly fossil gas – with renewables across Europe, bringing fossil-free power by 2035 within reach,” he said.
“EU leaders should join forces with the UK’s newly launched Global Clean Power Alliance to make fossil-free power a core contribution to the global energy consensus of tripling renewables, doubling efficiency and transitioning away from fossil fuels.”
The UK had proven it was possible to phase-out coal power at unprecedented speed, said Julia Skorupska, head of the Powering Past Coal Alliance secretariat. “One third of all countries have committed to do the same when they joined the alliance. Others will need to step up their efforts – but they don’t have to do it alone.”
The alliance brings together governments, financial institutions and companies to help countries phase-out coal and reap the benefits of the clean energy transition.
The spectre of coal still looms, however, with the UK continuing to mine and export coal abroad. In 2023, UK exports of coal generated around 1.8 million tonnes of CO2. “If we can understand the climate and health imperative of phasing-out coal at home, it’s only consistent that we also stop exporting it abroad,” said Daniel Therkelsen, campaign manager at Coal Action Network.
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