The UK has closed the Ratcliffe-on-Soar thermal power plant in Nottinghamshire. It was the last coal-fired power plant in the country. The UK was the first to use coal-fired power, and now it is getting rid of it.
The world’s first coal-fired power plant was opened in London in 1882, and in 2012, coal provided 39% of the country’s electricity. Ember’s data shows how this figure fell rapidly in subsequent years, remaining at 2% or below since 2019.
У report Ember «The UK’s path to a coal phase-out» outlines five key factors that have contributed to the rapid change. These include the announcement of a coal phase-out by 2025 ten years ago, carbon pricing, support for offshore wind, market reforms to encourage renewable energy, and grid investment.
Britain has mostly replaced coal by wind and sunwithout increasing dependence on gas. The country now aims to fully decarbonize its energy system by 2030.
The phase-out of coal has brought many benefits, reducing both emissions and costs. The rapid elimination of coal power since 2012 has avoided 880 million tons of emissions – the equivalent of more than double the emissions of the entire UK economy in 2023. Replacing coal with wind and solar power avoided costs of approximately £2.9 billion in 2023.
Source: Electrek