UK set to close its last coal plant this month, only clean energy from October

BATHINDA: The energy think tank Ember in its new analysis released on Friday has revealed a rapid shift from coal in the UK, as the last remaining coal plant Ratcliffe-on-Soar is set to close on September 30. Coal, which accounted for 39% of the UK’s total generation in 2012, falling to 0% in October 2024. Power sector emissions plummeted by 74% over that time, as coal’s share of power was largely replaced by wind and solar.
“The era of coal-free power begins. The UK has achieved something massive, shifting its power system from a huge polluter to one where renewables are thriving, in an astonishingly short period of time”, said Ember analyst Frankie Mayo
The closure of Ratcliffe power station marks a historic moment, ending a reliance on coal power that began in 1882 with the world’s first coal-fired power station at the Edison Electric Light Station in London. Coal played a major role in national energy supply throughout the 20th century, and although there was a decline in the 1990s, coal still supplied 39% of UK electricity in 2012.
From 2012, coal began to fall rapidly. From 2012 to 2023, 15 coal power plants closed or switched fuels, with coal-free days becoming increasingly common. This was made possible by UK policies incentivising the rapid deployment of renewable power, while at the same time tightening restrictions on highly polluting coal power plants.
The shift to clean power
Coal power was effectively replaced by wind and solar, which quadrupled their power generation since 2012 when coal’s rapid decline began. As coal generation fell from 39% of British power in 2012 to 1% in 2023, the share of wind and solar electricity increased from 6% to 34%. This was driven by wind power, which alone grew 315% (+62 TWh) in the same period. Wind and solar growth of 75 TWh since 2012 displaced an estimated 28 million tonnes of coal, and avoided £2.9bn in coal costs.
The coal power phase-out was achieved without a switch from coal to gas. Gas generation did spike from 2015 to 2016 as an increase to the Carbon Price Support meant that gas became cheaper than coal. However, since then, gas generation has declined and as of 2023 gas generation was level with 2012 (100 TWh).
By rapidly phasing out coal and scaling up renewables, the UK achieved a massive drop in power sector emissions. The rapid decline in coal power since 2012 avoided 880 million tonnes of emissions, which is equivalent to more than double the UK’s total economy-wide emissions in 2023.
Ember report highlights that the UK's shift away from coal was driven by five main factors: ambitious decarbonisation targets, the introduction of a rising minimum carbon price which made the economics of coal less favourable, strong policy support for wind power, market reforms, and investments and innovations in the grid. This can inform the UK’s efforts to reach the next major milestone: a clean power system by 2030.
“The work to build a clean power system will continue. To cut the need for expensive imported gas, to lower energy bills and to generate clean electricity which will enable the rest of the economy to transition too”, said Mayo.