Britain helped usher in the coal age – now it’s shutting down its last remaining plant

By the end of this month, the United Kingdom is set to shut down its last operational coal-fired power plant.

The Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in Nottinghamshire is set to close on September 30, marking the end of coal power in the U.K. It’s the start of an era of dirty energy that the U.K. helped usher in globally and now must leave behind to meet climate goals.

The coal power plant was first commissioned in 1967, and has been recognized since its establishment in 1968. Final Coal Delivery in June. The 2,000-megawatt plant can generate enough electricity to power nearly two million homes, according to energy company Uniper, which owns it. Over its decades of operation, Uniper says it has produced enough energy to brew more than 21 trillion cups of tea, or about 1 billion cups per day.

yet it It will reportedly take two years The plant will need to keep 125 workers on staff until it is shut down once it is closed. Announced plans Last year, a decision was made to produce hydrogen at the site instead of generating electricity from coal. Unlike fossil fuels, hydrogen fuel does not create carbon dioxide pollution that warms the planet when burned.

The caveat is that most hydrogen today is made through a process called Steam methane reformingThat still causes greenhouse gas emissions. A cleaner way to make hydrogen is through electrolysis, splitting water molecules using renewable energy. Uniper says it is interested in producing hydrogen through electrolysis at the former coal plant, which will reach a capacity of 500 megawatts by the end of the decade. After redeveloping the site to produce low-carbon energy, Uniper It is said that this could create 8,000 jobs,

Coal still contributes more than a third of the world’s total electricity generation, More energy and greenhouse gas emissions than any other fuelBut coal-fired power generation in the UK has fallen dramatically since 2012Its share of the UK electricity mix has fallen from 40 per cent to just 1 per cent. 2023Greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector have fallen by 74 percent over the same period, as wind and solar power replaced coal.

The UK passed the Climate Change Act in 2008. set it on a path Ditching coal on the way to reaching the goal of net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. Once the Ratcliffe-on-Soar plant closes, the UK will become the first advanced economy and Group of 7 country to phase out coal power. According to climate change think tank E3G,