UK Closes Its Last Coal-Fired Power Plant
The United Kingdom is set to make history by shutting down its final coal-fired power plant, Ratcliffe-on-Soar, on Monday, effectively ending over 140 years of coal-generated electricity in the nation that ignited the Industrial Revolution.
Located in central England, the Ratcliffe-on-Soar station will cease operations after more than 50 years of converting coal to electricity. As the plant prepares to wind down its final shift at midnight, owner Uniper has confirmed that many of the 170 remaining employees will continue working during a two-year decommissioning phase.
The UK government has celebrated this closure as a pivotal step toward its goal of generating all electricity from renewable sources by 2030. This makes the UK the first major economy within the Group of Seven (G7) to eliminate coal from its energy mix, although other European nations, such as Sweden and Belgium, achieved this milestone earlier.
Energy Minister Michael Shanks described the plant’s closure as “the end of an era,” acknowledging the hard work of coal industry workers who powered the nation for more than a century. “We owe a debt of gratitude to the generations who fueled our country’s growth,” Shanks said. “The coal era might be concluding, but a new chapter of sustainable energy jobs is just beginning.”
The history of coal-powered electricity in the UK dates back to 1882, with the opening of the world’s first coal-fired power plant, Thomas Edison’s Electric Light Station, in London. Ratcliffe-on-Soar, which began operations in 1968, has since been a prominent landmark, with its eight cooling towers and towering 199-meter (650-foot) chimney visible to millions of commuters passing by on the M1 highway and nearby train routes.
In 1990, coal accounted for about 80% of the UK’s electricity generation. By 2012, this figure had dropped to 39%, and by 2023, coal’s share had plummeted to just 1%, according to data from the National Grid. Today, more than half of Britain’s electricity comes from renewable sources like wind and solar, with the remainder generated from natural gas and nuclear energy.
Reflecting on the transition, Dhara Vyas, deputy chief executive of Energy U.K., highlighted the rapid decline in coal reliance. “A decade ago, coal was responsible for a third of the country’s power. To replace that with clean and low-carbon sources in just ten years is a remarkable achievement,” Vyas said. “As we aim for even more ambitious goals in the energy transition, it’s a testament to how quickly change can happen when there’s a collective effort.”
The closure of Ratcliffe-on-Soar symbolizes not just the end of coal in the UK, but also a broader shift toward a sustainable energy future, setting a precedent for other nations to follow.
