The end of an era: Britain closes last coal-fired plant to pursue renewable energy

Britain’s last coal-fired power plant is closing on Sept. 30, ending 142 years of coal-generated electricity in the nation that sparked the Industrial Revolution.

The Ratcliffe-on-Soar station in central England is finishing its final shift at midnight after more than half a century of turning coal into power. The U.K. government hailed the closure as a milestone in efforts to generate all of Britain’s energy from renewable sources by 2030.

Plant manager Peter O’Grady said it was “an emotional day.”

“When I started my career 36 years ago, none of us imaged a future without coal generation in our lifetimes,” he said.

The shutdown makes Britain the first country from the Group of Seven major economies to phase out coal – though some other European nations, including Sweden and Belgium, got there sooner.

Owner Uniper says many of the 170 remaining employees will stay on during a two-year decommissioning process.

Britain’s biggest steelworks will also end production later on Monday, as reported by Reuters, when the final blast furnace at Port Talbot in Wales will close after more than 100 years of steelmaking, at a cost of almost 3,000 jobs. The closure of the last blast furnace at Port Talbot, once the largest steelworks in Europe, is the culmination of decades of decline in Britain’s steel industry, which has struggled to compete with low-cost imports.

End of coal

Energy Minister Michael Shanks said the coal plant’s closure “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,” he said.

The world’s first coal-fired electricity plant, Thomas Edison’s Edison Electric Light Station, opened in London in 1882.

Ratcliffe-on-Soar, which opened in 1967, is a landmark whose eight concrete cooling towers and 199-meter (650-foot) chimney are seen by millions of people a year as they drive past on the M1 highway or speed by on trains.

In 1990 coal provided about 80% of Britain’s electricity. By 2012 it had fallen to 39%, and by 2023 it stood at just 1%, according to figures from the National Grid. More than half of Britain’s electricity now comes from renewable sources such as wind and solar power, and the rest from natural gas and nuclear energy.

“Ten years ago, coal was the leading source of this country’s power – generating a third of our electricity,” said Dhara Vyas, deputy chief executive of trade body Energy U.K.

“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,” Ms. Vyas said. “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.”

Coal has fueled civil strife as well as powering the country. Tens of thousands of miners walked out in 1984 over plans by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government to close more than 20 coal pits. The strike lasted a year, divided communities, and saw widespread violence as police clashed with pickets. The miners’ eventual defeat helped break the power of Britain’s trade unions, and hasten the end of the mining industry and the communities that relied on it.

Coal remains a combustible issue. Plans to open Britain’s first new coal mine in 30 years in northwest England divided residents, with some welcoming the promise of well-paid jobs and others opposing the pollution and carbon emissions it would bring. On Sept. 13 the High Court struck down planning permission for the mine that had been granted by the previous Conservative government in 2022.

Another chapter in Britain’s carbon-burning industrial heritage ends Sept. 30 with the closure of the last blast furnace at one of the world’s biggest steelworks, in Port Talbot, Wales.

Almost 2,000 jobs are being lost with the shutdown at the plant, owned by India’s Tata Steel. Tata plans to replace the blast furnace, which runs on the coal derivative coke, with a cleaner electric furnace that will emit less carbon and require fewer workers.

At its 1960s peak, more than 18,000 people were employed at the Port Talbot steelworks, before cheaper offerings from China and other countries hit production.

Roy Rickhuss, general secretary of the Community union, said the closure “marks the end of an era, but this is not the end for Port Talbot.”

“We will never stop fighting for our steel industry and our communities in South Wales,” he said.

This story was reported by The Associated Press. Material from Reuters was used in this report.