Ratcliffe-on-Soar: Final fuel delivery is end of the line for coal

Coal once dominated the East Midlands region, with the Ratcliffe Power Station at its heart.

However, just as the coal mines have closed, now the UK’s last coal-fired power station will cease production this autumn.

Coal is a fossil fuel and has been generating electricity in Britain since the Industrial Revolution, but it is now known for its impact on the environment.

When coal burns, it releases greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere.

Over time, the build-up of those gases has increased global temperatures, by trapping extra energy in the Earth’s atmosphere.

The European Union ranked Ratcliffe as the continent’s 18th most polluting power plant in 2008.

The UK has pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.

To help achieve that target, the UK government has said it wants to achieve fully “clean” electricity by 2035, by rapidly increasing wind, solar, and nuclear power.

At the turn of the 20th Century, coal was used to generate over 95% of energy consumed in the UK. By 2023, that had fallen to just 1%.