Last coal power station in UK shuts down, brings coal era to end after 143 years

After nearly 143 years of power generation, the era of coal in the United Kingdom has drawn to a close, with the 2GW Ratcliffe-on-Soar facility in the East Midlands officially ceasing operations at midnight on Monday UK time.

The Ratcliffe-on-Soar power plant, located in Nottinghamshire and operated by German energy company Uniper, officially ceased operations at 9am AEST on Tuesday, bringing to an end an era that began when the Edison Electric Light Station was began operating in January of 1882.

Coal has been on a long and torturous slump in the UK, however, slipping from prominence and an 80 per cent share of generation in 1990 as a combination of government policy and financial incentives drove the growth of renewable energy. Over the last two decades, coal-free days in the UK became increasingly common.

This was hastened in 2015 when the government announced plans to end UK coal power generation over the following decade, and October 2024 being announced as the end date in 2020.

“The UK was the first country to build a coal fired power station. It is right that it is the first major economy to exit coal power,” said Ed Matthew, from climate change think tank E3G.

“This is true global leadership, lighting the path for other countries to follow. The UK will now focus on rapidly eliminating unabated gas from its power system and oil from transport. The clean energy revolution is in full swing and the prize will be cheaper, more secure and less polluting power and a chance to end the climate crisis.”

Since it was commissioned in 1967, Ratcliffe-on-Soar has produced enough energy to make more than 21 trillion cups of tea, generated enough to power two million homes, but it has also been one of the country’s biggest emitters, releasing 2.7 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2023 alone.

It has also provided an iconic site for locals, with its eight 114-metre-high cooling towers touted as a nostalgic part of the East Midlands skyline.

Consisting of four 500MW units, the site will now undergo a two-year decommissioning process, during which time many of its remaining 170 employees will stay on during the process.

“It is an emotional day for me as well as for the team,” said Peter O’Grady, Plant Manager, Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station.

“When I started my career 36 years ago, none of us imaged a future without coal generation in our lifetimes. I am incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved together over the years and to be part of this energy milestone as the country focuses on a cleaner energy future.”

Uniper has committed to ensuring continued support for employees from the power plant, with help in finding suitable redeployment opportunities across the wider Uniper group, and three redundancy windows for those unable to secure an alternative role.

“Today’s closure at Ratcliffe marks the end of an era and coal workers can be rightly proud of their work powering our country for over 140 years,” said Michael Shanks, Britain’s minister for energy.

“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. The government’s clean energy superpower mission is about creating good jobs in wind power and new technologies like carbon capture and storage.

“That work is helping boost our energy security and independence, protecting families from international hikes in the price of fossil fuels and with it, creating jobs and tackling climate change.”