Britain, which launched the world's first coal-fired power station in London in 1882, announced the closure of the country's last coal-fired power station in Ratcliffe-on-Soare (Nottinghamshire) at the end of September, the Financial Times (FT) newspaper reported.
In this way, Britain will "become the first country in the Group of Seven (G7) to stop using coal for electricity generation." Moreover, this will happen a year earlier than planned by the British authorities. Germany aims to do so by 2038, Canada by 2030, and Italy by the end of 2025, excluding the island of Sardinia.
Back in 1990, coal-fired power plants generated, according to the publication, 80% of the kingdom's electricity consumption, but in 2023 this share has dropped to 1%. In particular, gas-fired power plants account for 34.7%, wind and solar power for 32.8%, and nuclear power plants for 13.8%.
According to Matt Magill, a representative of the company - operator of the British energy system National Grid, "many did not believe that abandoning coal at the moment was possible". However, “after a huge amount of work, mainly related to the introduction of modern technologies, reduction of production costs, with significant financial state support” that was accomplished, he said.
„The closure of the last coal-fired power station at the end of September will be a key step in decarbonising the kingdom's electricity by 2030,” notes the FT.