The UK’s last coal plant will close this month, ending 140 years of the use of the fuel for electricity.
London saw the world’s first coal-fired power plant in 1882, and the UK will likewise become the first G7 country to remove coal from its grid.
The Ratcliffe-on-Soar station received its last shipment of fuel in July, and its boilers, which reached 1,000°C (1,832°F) when working, are cold.
The UK’s move away from coal has been rapid: In 1990, it was still the source of most of the country’s electricity, but it has been phased out by the growth of gas and renewables. Those two sources now account for roughly a third of the country’s power each, with nuclear and bioenergy making up the rest.
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