The Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station, the last remaining coal-fired power station in the UK, is scheduled to shut down on 30th September after receiving its final coal shipment in late June. This marks the end of coal-fired power generation in the UK, a sector that once contributed over a third of the nation’s electricity supply.
The closure is part of a broader initiative to phase out coal as the country strives to meet its carbon reduction goals. Plans are already in place to transform the site into a zero-carbon technology and energy hub. The company overseeing the facility announced that it aims to produce low carbon hydrogen, targeting 500MW in electrolysis capacity by the end of the decade.
The UK’s reliance on coal has drastically reduced over the years, plummeting from more than 95% of electricity generation at the start of the 20th century to just 1% by 2023. The government’s target to eliminate coal-based energy production by 2024 aligns with the closure of the Ratcliffe station. Opened in 1967, the power plant has had the capacity to generate electricity for over two million homes and, over its 57 years of operation, produced enough energy to power the making of more than 21 trillion cups of tea.
