With the closure of Ratcliffe-on-Soar coal plant, the UK has finally bid adieu to reliance on coal for power, symbolizing the beginning of an era of cleaner energy. It is the first country to build a coal-based power station, which paved way for several such power generation centres that played a prominent role in the industrial revolution.
By shutting down the power station, UK is marking the end of 142 years its coal reliance and is trailblazing a milestone in its efforts to generate all of Britain's energy from sustainable sources by 2030. Plant manager Peter O’Grady said it was 'an emotional day,' and that he could never imagine a future without coal when he had begun his career at the plant around 36 years ago.
With the shutdown, Britain becomes the first among the Group of Seven major economies to phase out coal.
Energy Minister Michael Shanks said the plant's closure marks the end of an era and coal workers can be rightly proud of their work powering their country for over 140 years. “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”, he said.
The world's first coal-fired electricity plant, Thomas Edison's Edison Electric Light Station, opened in London in 1882.
Ratcliffe-on-Soar, which opened in 1968, is a landmark whose eight concrete cooling towers and 199-metre (650-foot) chimney are seen by millions of people a year as they drive past on the M1 highway or speed by on trains.
In 1990 coal provided about 80 per cent of Britain's electricity. By 2012 it had fallen to 39 per cent, and by 2023 it stood at just 1 per cent, according to figures from the National Grid. More than half of Britain's electricity now comes from renewable sources such as wind and solar power, and the rest from natural gas and nuclear energy.
(With inputs from PTI via AP)