The U.K. ignited the Industrial Revolution, and now it's the first of its peer nations to shut down its last coal plant.
According to the Washington Post, the last coal-fired power plant in England, located in Ratcliffe-on-Soar, shut down in September. The generators used to run 24/7, "producing 2,000 megawatts of power on demand." In recent years, the plant was only used as a backup when the U.K.'s wind and solar energy lagged.
Plant workers will decommission it in the next two years before it is demolished. Plans are still being made for what the plant will be turned into. It will possibly be a "zero-carbon technology and energy hub," according to ARUP, a global collective dedicated to sustainable development,
"This will be the end," said plant manager Peter O'Grady, who is in charge of ending the coal era. "This has been a personal journey for me, as well as a national journey."
The Industrial Revolution started over 200 years ago, with the first coal-fired plant built in England in 1882. You've probably used the term "smog" to describe air pollution — that, too, was created in England.
There are a few estimates of how much polluting gas the Ratcliffe plant created. One climate website estimates it could have produced 15 million tons of toxic gas annually.
Now, the U.K. will rely on a mixture of nuclear power, renewable energy sources, and natural gas. Wind farms actually account for a third of the U.K.'s electricity.
A few other G-7 countries will follow the U.K. in shutting down coal plants: Italy in 2025, Canada in 2030, and Germany in 2038.
While the Ratcliffe plant hasn't been fully running in recent years, there is evidence that shutting down a coal plant can positively affect a community.
A coal plant closed in Pittsburgh after running for over 50 years. Its shutdown immediately benefited the community's health, with weekly visits to the emergency room for heart-related illnesses decreasing by 42%.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the Biden administration established new standards in 2024 that lay out a path to stop burning coal by 2034. Coal currently makes up 18% of the U.S.'s electricity, per the Washington Post.
You can help speed up the process by using your voice to speak to your representatives and vote for pro-climate candidates.
The former Chair of the Climate Change Committee, The Rt Hon. Lord Deben, said in a press release: "King Coal is dead. Long live his clean successors. This is the day we finally recognize that we can have power without it costing the Earth."
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