German utility RWE closes its last coal-fired power plant in the UK in 2020 | Business

The German utility giant RWE will close its last coal-fired power plant next winter, leaving only four coal-fired power plants to power homes in Britain.

RWE will close the Aberthaw B plant in South Wales at the end of March 2020 after half a century of electricity generation from coal.

The energy company, which operates one of the largest portfolios of gas power plants, said it had been clear for some time that the UK was a difficult market for gas producers. coal.

The United Kingdom used coal for less than 5% of its electricity last year and has totally refrained from producing electricity generated by coal for a week earlier this year, the longest period without coal since the industrial revolution.

The coal has been driven out of the electricity system due to rising carbon taxes and will be banned by the government from 2025 to help the UK achieve its climate goals.

The closure of Aberthaw B comes after SSE announced in June the closure of the Fiddler's Ferry coal-fired power plant near Warrington, Cheshire, by the end of March 2020, as it could not compete with the factors. related to gas and renewable energies.

In February, EDF Energy announced the closure of the Cottam coal plant in September.

This succession of shutdowns means that in the UK there will only be four coal-fired power plants: West Burton A and Ratcliffe-on-Soar in Nottinghamshire, Kilroot in Northern Ireland and two production at the Drax site in North Yorkshire. are intended for conversion to flue gas.

Roger Miesen, RWE's General Manager of Production, said, "This is a difficult time for everyone at Aberthaw. However, market conditions made this decision necessary. "

He added that the company would complete a consultation process with the 170 people directly employed by the factory in the coming months. Union Unite called for an urgent meeting with the company to explain the plant closure earlier than planned in 2021.

"The reasons given for closure are economic: the plant has rarely operated in recent months," said Kelvin Mawer, Regional Manager of Unite. "However, the decision to close was made much earlier than expected."

Tom Glover, President of RWE in the UK, said: "For nearly 50 years, the plant has been invaluable in securing the energy supply of the UK power system and we are very proud of its flexibility and its resilience. "

The decline of coal in the UK energy mix has been replaced by the growth of renewable energy sources, which generated one-third of the electricity used last year.

The official annual energy report from the government revealed that low-carbon electricity – including nuclear energy and renewables – was used to produce more than half of the electricity used in the UK for the first time Last year.

Doug Parr, Chief Scientist and Director of Policy at Greenpeace UK, said the Aberthaw closure should prompt the government to further support renewable energy in order to meet the UK's energy needs.

Greenpeace has often criticized the government for preventing coastal wind farms from competing for government subsidies for other energy technologies, after the Conservative manifesto had ruled out other wind farms for the first time. # 39; England.

Parr said the ministers should "curb wind and solar power, which will do most of the work to bring the UK to a clean energy system".