Once a global leader in the coal industry, the UK’s last operational coal-fired plant, Ratcliffe-on-Soar in Nottinghamshire, is set to shut down on September 30. The closure marks a key milestone in the country’s transition to cleaner, more sustainable energy production.   

The closure is part of a broader effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, aligning with an agreement among G7 countries to eliminate unabated coal use by 2035, the first time a global target has been set for coal.  

Coal has been used to generate electricity in the UK since the Industrial Revolution and critical to iconic technological developments like the steam engine and printing press. It has also had significant environmental impact though and coal power plants are currently responsible for approximately one fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions.   

Since 2012, coal’s contribution to the electricity mix in the UK has plummeted from nearly 40 per cent to just one per cent by 2023. Meanwhile, renewable energy sources like wind and solar have surged, helping to cut greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector by an impressive 74 per cent during the same period. 

Uniper, the company that owns Ratcliffe-on-Soar, plans to repurpose the site for hydrogen production. While most hydrogen today is produced using methods that still emit greenhouse gases, Uniper aims to explore electrolysis, a method that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen, using renewable energy. By the end of the decade, they hope to achieve a hydrogen production capacity of 500 megawatts at the former coal site, creating up to 8,000 jobs and contributing to the UK’s green economy. 

It is expected to take two years to decommission the plant after it shuts down, with 125 staff members needed to remain until the process is complete. Shutting down Ratcliffe-on-Soar will make the UK the first country of the G7 nations to move away from coal entirely. Italy aims to achieve this by next year, France by 2027, Canada by 2030 and Germany by 2038.  

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