Britain's last coal-fired power station closes

Britain’s last coal-fired power station officially closed its doors on Sept 30, making the country the first Group of Seven (G-7) nation to end its reliance on the fossil fuel to produce electricity.

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The closure of Ratcliffe-on-Soar, a power plant that has dominated the surrounding central England landscape for nearly 60 years, marks a symbolic step in the UK’s ambition to decarbonise electricity by 2030 and become carbon-neutral by 2050.

“The era of coal might be ending, but a new age of good energy jobs for our country is just beginning,” Energy Minister Michael Shanks said in a statement.

The owner of the Ratcliffe-on-Soar plant, Uniper, said the site will begin a two-year decommissioning period beginning in October.

The 350 Uniper employees and contractors who work at the site will either be redeployed to other roles within the company or leave the business within three redundancy windows before the end of 2026, Uniper told AFP.

In its place will be a new development – a “carbon-free technology and energy hub”, the company said.