UK downs shutters on its last coal plant

Coal provided almost 40% of electricity demands of the UK in 2012, shrinking to 2% by 2019, to the complete phase out today, found a report by energy think tank Ember

Today, October 1, is a historic day for the United Kingdom. It’s now coal free. 

The country was built on fire-power of combusting coal, heralding the Industrial Revolution. But on September 30, the last coal power plant, Ratcliffe-on-Soar in Nottinghamshire, downed its shutters. 

This development is among a long line of adjustments that the island state has been following to shift to clean energy. In 2012, coal provided almost 40% of electricity demands of the UK, shrinking to 2% by 2019, to the complete phase out today, according to a report by UK-based energy think tank Ember.

On a global scale, this means that electricity from coal generation in OECD countries has halved since 2007. Then, coal accounted for 36% of total electricity needs, and has come down to 17% today, found another Ember report. Essentially, this means that one-third of OECD countries are coal-free, while three-quarters aim to be coal-free by 2030.

The rapid growth in solar and wind was responsible for 87% of the fall in coal during this period, found Ember’s report.

“The UK’s coal use falling so rapidly and renewables developing quickly to replace it shows how possible it is to make the net zero electricity transition,” said Jess Ralston, Head of Energy at Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit.

Championing renewables

Since 2012, around 15 coal plants have either shut or switched to other fuels. As a result, power sector emissions have plummeted by 74% in the UK, according to the report. It pointed out that the UK was able to reduce the dependency on coal so quickly, as it ramped up renewables with more intent. 

Wind and solar growth was impressive, increasing from 6% to 34% of the UK’s electricity generation in the past 12 years. Combined, the two renewable energy sources grew by 75 TWh, leading to around 28 million tonnes of coal not being burnt, said the report. Economically, this meant saving around £2.9 billion based on 2023 coal prices.

Wind generation, by far, is the champion, growing 315% (62 TWh) from 2012 to 2023. Gas, however, grew only by 6%, pointed out the report.

Another reason that aided the coal phase-out was the fall in electricity demand, driven by rising power prices and energy-efficient electrical appliances. Since 2012, electricity demand fell by 16%, according to Ember.

While it’s commendable that the UK has phased out coal on its own shores, it still is importing coal from abroad and polluting other countries.

“The spectre of coal still looms with the UK continuing to mine and export coal abroad. In 2023 alone, UK exports of coal generated around 1.8 million tonnes of CO2. It is reckless and hypocritical to dump the dirtiest of fossil fuels on other countries whilst boasting that the UK itself has moved beyond coal,” said Alexandru Mustață, coal campaigner at Beyond Fossil Fuel.

Renewables growing more than coal

Falling costs of renewables also makes it economically efficient for countries to shift away from coal. This leads to new coal projects being cancelled or being stranded.

New coal power proposals have declined by 68% since 2015 and countries are accelerating the deployment of renewable energy worldwide. China added 7x more renewables than coal, while India’s renewable growth was twice as much as coal, found Ember.

To limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5°C, the world must urgently reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Both the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimate that coal power generation needs to end as soon as possible.

Last year, at a press conference at the UN, Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on governments to commit to no new coal and  complete phasing out coal by 2030 in OECD countries and 2040 elsewhere.

“Globally, the cost of solar, wind and battery technologies have fallen dramatically, making them affordable and essential for reducing power bills, enhancing energy security, and creating jobs. Transitioning to clean energy improves air quality, mitigates the climate crisis, and reduces dependence on imported fuels,” said Christine Shearer, Research Analyst, Global Energy Monitor.

Ember’s report points out five policy lessons that other countries can imbibe from the UK to phase out coal. They are:

• Tightening decarbonisation targets
• Raising the cost of coal
• Support for offshore wind
• Market reforms for renewables
• Electricity grid investment

While OECD countries’ dependency on coal has been declining, developing countries are increasingly dependent on it to meet growing power demands. Since 2007, China’s coal power has doubled, India’s has tripled and Southeast Asia’s has quadrupled. Between them, they accounted for three-quarters of the world’s coal generation in 2023 – 55%, 14% and 5% respectively, found Ember.

Then again, China’s rapid build up of renewables can signify that for the Asian giant, coal usage has already peaked. India’s renewables target also gives hope that coal usage will not grow too rapidly, found the report.

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