Impact of UK Stopping its Reliance on Coal for Electricity

Despite being the birthplace of coal power, the UK is the first major economy to give it up for good.

The country’s last remaining coal plant, Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station — outside of Nottingham in the heart of the UK’s Midlands — ceased operations at the end of September.

The power plant had been responsible for 57 years of power generation and was a pillar of Britain’s more than 140-year tenure in this space — something which was closely linked to both the country’s socioeconomic and political history.

The UK’s coal industry: A timeline

The UK’s deep-rooted history in coal may end with the Ratcliffe shutdown, but it actually began all the way back in the Roman Empire.

It’s believed from British Geological Survey research that the Romans may have begun mining in Somerset to heat baths and forge iron. But it was when the Industrial Revolution came to the British Isles in the 1800s that coal became a crucial weapon in Britain’s industrial arsenal.

The UK’s coal generation history:

• 1712: The newly-invented Newcomen steam engine allows for deeper coal mining

• 1882: The world’s first coal-fired power station opens on London's Holborn Viaduct

• 1920: UK coal generates 4TWh of electricity, meeting 97% of national demand

• 1974: Coal-fired generators provided 57.5GW of the UK's total 72.1GW capacity

• 1980: Coal electricity generation peaks at 212TWh

• 1986: Last new coal-fired capacity added at Drax power station, doubling its capacity to 4GW

• 1990s: Coal use declines as power stations switch to gas and biomass

• 2001: Coal imports exceed domestic production for the first time

• 2017: The first 24-hour period with no coal-generated electricity takes place for the first time since 1882

• 2023: Coal consumption falls to 587,000 tonnes, down from 157 million tonnes in 1970

• 2024: Ratcliffe-on-Soar, the UK’s last coal-fired power plant, closes.

Former Chair of the Climate Change Committee (CCC), Lord Deben, says of the closure: “King coal is dead. Long live his clean successors. 

“This is the day we finally recognise that we can have power without it costing the Earth.”

“This is the final chapter of a remarkably swift transition from the country that started the industrial revolution,” Phil MacDonald, Managing Director of energy think tank Ember shares.

What is the future of UK energy?

Ember UK Senior Energy and Climate Analyst Frankie Mayo adds: “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. 

“But 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 the clean electricity which will enable the rest of the economy to transition, too.”

Coal’s decline has been driven by renewables alongside coal’s overall drop in demand. 

For example, wind and solar have both experienced massive growth in recent years, where coal entered terminal decline.

Minister for Energy Michael Shanks says this monumental shift away from coal marks the end of an era, adding that “a new age of good energy jobs for our country is just beginning”.

“The government’s clean energy superpower mission is about creating good jobs in wind power and new technologies like carbon capture and storage,” he says. “That work is helping boost our energy security and independence, protecting families from international hikes in the price of fossil fuels and, with it, creating jobs and tackling climate change.”

In line with these aspirations, wind and solar capacity in the neighbouring EU has increased by 65% since 2019, with wind capacity increasing by 31% and solar capacity more than doubling. 

This growth has led to a 46% increase in generation and a rise in the share of wind and solar in the EU’s electricity mix, from 17% to 27%. 

In the UK, 43.1% of the energy mix was from renewables in the 12 months to September 2024. Wind follows with 30.4% and at biomass 6.6%, with solar contributing 4.7% and hydro 1.4%.

Where is coal still being used?

The top four countries are responsible for 76% of the world's coal-fired electricity, totalling 6,626TWh.

Those nations are:

• China
• India
• The US
• Japan

The move to renewables

Kayte O'Neill, CEO at the Energy System Operator — which oversees the UK's electricity system — says it's not as easy as switching from fossil fuel-generated electricity to its renewable counterparts.

She says: “There is a whole load of innovation required to help us ensure the stability of the grid and keeping the lights on in a secure way.”

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