UK shows how to transition away from fossil fuel

The shutdown of the Ratcliffe-on-Soar plant was a key step along Britain’s programmed phaseout of coal-powered electricity.

September 30, 2024 was a historic day for the economy of the United Kingdom. On that day, the British government closed its last coal-fired power plant, located in the central England town of Ratcliffe-on Soar. The shutdown took place 140 years after the commissioning of Britain’s first coal-fired plant, one of the numerous plants that fueled Britain’s rise to the leadership of the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries.

The shutdown of the Ratcliffe-on-Soar plant was a key step along Britain’s programmed phaseout of coal-powered electricity. In accordance with the program, the share of coal-powered electricity in the United Kingdom’s energy mix fell from 38 percent in 2013 to 5 percent in 2018 and to 1 percent in 2023.

Under the government’s Green Energy Plan, the share of coal-powered electricity in Britain’s energy mix will be taken over by a combination of offshore wind power, nuclear power and tidal power. “Britain has set an example for the rest of the world to follow,” said a statement from climate change advocate Greenpeace.

Historically, the United Kingdom’s economy has been associated with coal-powered electricity. “Coal was the backbone of UK power generation for over a century, but its place is now in the history books,” stated an official of Friends of the Earth, another climate change advocate.

And how does the Philippines figure in the worldwide campaign to transition power generation away from coal?

Ironically, the news about the closure of Britain’s last coal-powered plant came very shortly after a presentation made at the recent Asia Power Forum by a top executive of Aboitiz Power Corp., one of this country’s leading power industry players.

Said Carlos Aboitiz: “There is a lack of alternatives to fossil fuels, especially for consistent power that meets daily demand. The evolution of our society as we know it today is only possible due to the evolution of our energy systems, emissions and all.” Thus, the Aboitiz Power honcho said, there is a need to “maximize high-generating non-renewable sources like conventional coal power plants with a high-capacity factor.”

The contrast between the British government’s attitude toward coal-based power generation and the attitude of Philippine power industry players like Aboitiz Power could not be starker. The British government long ago laid out a program for phasing out coal-powered electricity and it completed the program on schedule.

The government has set a target date of 2030 for the transition of this county’s energy mix to 35 percent renewable and 65 percent non-renewable. Is that target likely to be met? If the major players of the Philippine power industry think like Carlos Aboitiz, I very much doubt it.

(llagasjessa@yahoo.com)