Workers at the UK's last coal-fired power plant prepare to say goodbye
Workers at the UK's last active coal-fired power station say 'it'll be a sad day' when the plant closes for good in September 2024.
Jon Newcombe joined Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station as an apprentice 42 years ago.
His son, Aran Newcombe, followed in his father's footsteps and joined the plant in 2007, as an apprentice.
Aran met his wife working there and says he's got a lot to thank Ratcliffe for, for giving him what he has today.
Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station has been generating electricity for 56 years.
It was commissioned by the Central Electricity Generating Board in 1986, with a capacity of 2,000 megawatts, enough to power two million homes.
The power station is owned by international energy company, Uniper.
The power plant will close on 30 September 2024 as part of government plans to end coal production in the UK.
'A sad day'
Father and son team Jon and Aran Newcombe both joined the power station from school, both starting as apprentices.
Jon now works on the mechanical maintenance team and will retire when the plant closes.
He said: 'I've got a big affinity to this place and the people. I don't particularly want to be part of breaking it up and decommissioning.
"I've worked on a lot of it, maintained it for that long. It'll be a sad day."
Aran works as a senior authorised person in the control room and is one of 125 Uniper staff who will stay on at the plant for decommissioning.
He said: 'It's going to be quite sad at times, taking apart something you've been coming to for 16 years. I guess it's done it's time and needs to be taken down."
'We're all a team'
John Roberts, an electrical engineer, is one of the longest serving members of staff at Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station.
He started working at the plant as an apprentice 44 years ago and will retire in September 2024.
He said: 'I've spent such a long time keeping it going, we're all a team. I'm one of the longest because it's a great place to work. I've enjoyed the good days, and the ones that aren't so good, you still enjoy, because it's a challenge."
Why is coal production ending in the UK?
Coal once dominated the East Midlands region, but the coal mines have shut, and the UK's last coal-fired power station will cease production in September 2024.
Coal is a fossil fuel and has been generating electricity in Great Britain since the Industrial Revolution, but it's now known to be Britain's dirtiest fossil fuel because of the impact it has 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 UK has pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.
To help achieve that target, the UK government has made a series of ambitious pledges, which include achieving fully "clean" electricity by 2035, by rapidly increasing wind, solar, and nuclear power.
Decommissioning at the Ratcliffe plant will start on 1 October 2024 and will take two years to complete.
Demolition of the cooling towers and the rest of the 655-acre site will start once decommissioning is complete.
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