Electricity

United Kingdom, Slovakia to bid farewell to coal this year

United Kingdom Slovakia bid farewell coal this year

Photo: Slovenské elektrárne

Published

January 16, 2024

Country

Comments

comments icon

0

Share

Published:

January 16, 2024

Country:

Comments:

comments icon

0

Share

Uniper is about to close the United Kingdom’s last coal-fired thermal power plant and turn to hydrogen production at the site. Slovakia is considering to build a small modular reactor instead of its only remaining coal plant, due to be shut down by mid-year.

Few countries in Europe will still have coal power plants in ten years due to emission costs, ever stricter environmental rules and the hesitation of their operators to invest in keeping mostly old facilities competitive. Britain and Slovakia are completing the coal phaseout in 2024 while Austria earlier scrapped the plan to fire up the retired Mellach plant.

German utility Uniper is sticking with its plan to close its Ratcliffe-on-Soar plant in September. The 2 GW coal power station of four units is the last one in the UK. Last winter it was one of five in standby mode.

Ratcliffe was commissioned in 1968. The company earlier revealed plans to start low-carbon hydrogen production at the location and gradually reach 500 MW in electrolysis capacity by the end of the decade.

The share of fossil fuels in domestically produced electricity in Britain fell in 2023 to the lowest since 1957, Carbon Brief calculated. They accounted for 33% but gas alone made up 31%, coal was barely above 1% and the remainder was oil.

Slovakia pushed coal phaseout forward by six years

Slovakia is set to become coal free by mid-year. The country earlier committed to completing the phaseout by 2030, Beyond Fossil Fuels said.

The last coal plant, Vojany, is scheduled to end its operations by the end of June. The facility has two remaining units of 110 MW each. It was built in 1966.

Its operator Slovenské elektrárne has been coincinerating waste and biomass in Vojany, but eventually concluded that the supply of alternative fuel is unreliable and insufficient. The facility is located in the Michalovce district in eastern Slovakia.

The Novaky coal plant, of 266 MW, was closed in December. Last year the Ministry of Economy and Slovenské elektrárne revealed they are considering the option of building a small modular reactor instead at one of the sites.

Austria keeps Mellach coal plant offline

Austria’s government failed last year to push through a proposition through parliament to reactivate Verbund’s Mellach coal plant. The endeavor was criticized as too complicated and costly.

The country lifted its share of renewables in electricity generation to 87% last year from 78%. It earned it the second place in the chart in the European Union, while Luxembourg held the top position.

Moreover, France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Switzerland committed in December to decarbonizing their electricity systems entirely by 2035.

Comments (0)

Be the first one to comment on this article.

Enter Your Comment
Please wait... Please fill in the required fields. There seems to be an error, please refresh the page and try again. Your comment has been sent.

Related Articles

EPS Kostolac B3 coal plant in Serbia completed

EPS’s Kostolac B3 coal plant in Serbia completed

01 November 2024 - Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović Handanović said the commissioning documentation for Kostolac B3 is almost finished

South eastern Europe power problem CESEC help solve Maike Kirsch features

South-eastern Europe has a power problem – CESEC can help solve it

01 November 2024 - This summer, South-eastern Europe saw the highest electricity price spikes since the 2022 gas crisis, exposing a discrepancy with the rest of the EU

romania cyber security audit solar power

Romania to introduce mandatory cyber audit for solar power plants

31 October 2024 - The executive order, drafted by Romania’s Ministry of Energy, includes provisions for a mandatory cyber audit of solar power plants

Monsson 2 GWh battery storage system Romania

Monsson to build 2 GWh battery storage system in Romania

31 October 2024 - A subsidiary of Monsson Group revealed a battery storage project for just over 2 GWh on 20 hectares in Constanța county