LONDON: On Monday, the UK’s final coal-fired power plant formally shuttered, making it the first of the G7 nations to stop relying on the fossil fuel to generate electricity.
Ratcliffe-on-Soar, a power station that has dominated the landscape of central England for almost 60 years, is closing. This is a symbolic move toward the UK’s goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050 and decarbonizing electricity by 2030. Energy Minister Michael Shanks said in a statement, “The era of coal may be ending, but a new age of good energy jobs for our country is just beginning.”
The Ratcliffe-on-Soar factory’s owner, Uniper, announced that the plant will enter a two-year decommissioning process starting in October. Before the end of 2026, Uniper stated that the 350 workers and contractors at the location will either be let go within three redundancy windows or transferred to other positions within the company.
According to the firm, a “carbon-free technology and energy hub” will take its place. As the first country in the G7 of wealthy nations to completely abandon coal-powered electricity, Britain’s 140-year reliance on the resource comes to an end.
France wants to do so in 2027, Italy by next year, Canada by 2030, and Germany by 2038. There are no scheduled dates between the US and Japan.
