The UK has marked a historic second in its power transition by shuttering the Ratcliffe-on-Soar Energy Station in Nottinghamshire, its final remaining coal energy plant.
“That is the ultimate chapter of a remarkably swift transition from the nation that began the Industrial Revolution,” mentioned Phil MacDonald, managing director of worldwide power suppose tank Ember.
The world’s first coal energy plant opened in London in 1882, and as just lately as 2012, coal powered 39% of the UK’s electrical energy provide. Nevertheless, Ember’s knowledge exhibits how this dropped quickly within the following years, remaining at 2% or decrease since 2019.
Ember’s report, “The UK’s journey to a coal energy phase-out,” outlines the 5 key elements that facilitated the UK’s speedy exit from coal: asserting a 2025 coal exit a decade upfront, placing a worth on carbon, backing offshore wind, market reforms to encourage renewable power, and investing within the grid.
“The UK supplied each the carrots and the sticks,” mentioned Phil MacDonald, managing director of Ember. “It’s essential to sign that polluting sources have an finish date, but in addition to offer an enabling atmosphere to construct the brand new clear power system.”
The UK predominantly changed coal with wind and photo voltaic, with out growing reliance on fuel. The nation is now focusing on a totally decarbonized energy system by 2030.
The UK’s coal phase-out has introduced many advantages, decreasing each emissions and prices. The speedy decline in coal energy since 2012 prevented 880 million tonnes of emissions, which is equal to greater than double the UK’s whole economy-wide emissions in 2023. Ember calculates that the alternative of coal with wind and photo voltaic prevented an estimated £2.9 billion in prices.
The UK’s final coal plant closure signifies that greater than a 3rd of Organisation for Financial Co-operation and Growth (OECD) international locations are actually coal-free, with three-quarters anticipated to get rid of coal energy by 2030, aligning with international local weather objectives to restrict warming to 1.5C.
Coal now accounts for simply 17% of electrical energy era in OECD international locations, down from 36% at its peak in 2007. The speedy development in photo voltaic and wind was answerable for 87% of the autumn in coal throughout this era.
“As soon as, coal energy was a byword for industrial development,” continued Mr MacDonald. “Now clear power is driving economies – and never simply in high-income international locations, however all through the world.”
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